Rubus Discolor Project is pleased to present Rhizophora, a solo exhibition by Rujuta Rao. The show runs from July 15 - July 25, 2022, and the artist will be in residence throughout. There will be an opening reception on Friday, July 15th from 6 - 8pm.
In Rhizophora, Rujuta Rao extends qualities of fragmentation to the mangrove plant body and to bodies of women, creating moments for these fragments to intersect with each other. By doing so she addresses the threatened existence of mangroves and the fracturing effects of trauma on the bodies and minds of women while being curious about the adaptive strategies of both to survive inundation. The work includes objects, performance, garments, sound pieces, and fictional narratives which will be altered and rearranged over the course of the exhibition. Rao will be in residence at the gallery for the duration of the show.
Simultaneously, Rao will show her traveling work Dispersal, which began in New York City as a way to share a tactile engagement with objects in an intimate setting. The traveling is meant to echo the migration of mangrove propagules which float across vast distances before eventually taking root. The calendar for Dispersal can be found here. Interested parties are encouraged to sign up. Locations will be chosen in collaboration between the viewer and the artist.
Rujuta Rao, born in Goa, India in 1989, completed her BFA in sculpture at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 2011, and her MFA in interdisciplinary art at Parsons School of Design, New York in 2014.
Rao’s work has been shown at The Kitchen, Printed Matter, Anthology Film Archives and The Film-makers’ Cooperative in NY; Serendipity Arts Festival and Goa Open Arts Festival in Goa; Pulp Society in New Delhi; Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore and g39 in Cardiff amongst other venues. She has been the recipient of the Serendipity Arts Foundation Fine Arts Grant, The British Council and Wales Arts International Grant and more recently the Civita Institute Drexler Family Diversity Fellowship as a part of which she will travel to Civita di Bagnoregio in August 2022 to study the history and use of linen in Central Italy. In March 2023, she will travel to Amami Ōshima to study its mangrove forest and the Ōshima Tsumugi textile tradition as part of Japan’s Center for Contemporary Arts Islands Travel Scholarship. She has participated in residencies such as The Rejoinders residency in Cardiff, the CONA Foundation Passing Through residency in Mumbai and the Barcelona-based Cel del Nord remote residency.
Hours:
July 15: 6 - 8pm [opening reception]
July 16: 11 - 1pm
July 21: 6 - 8pm
July 22: 6 - 8pm
July 23: 11 - 1pm
July 25: Dispersal will be available off-site by appointment [see above]
For other dates or times to visit Rujuta and RDP, please send an email to rubusdiscolorproject@gmail.com . Also, please bring a mask!
