Two major global cities come together in Samiksha Adukia’s latest art series — Deja Vu Bombay New York
Pics courtesy/Samiksha Adukia
Imagine a colour palette that fittingly captures moods of a rainwashed day. No, not the shadowy kind. But the kind where the sun peers through the clouds to come out again. On such days, our yearning for ‘home’ peaks. Artist Samiksha Adukia, who claims to have spent the best decade of her life in Mumbai, details similar hopes of homecoming. Her recent art series — Déjà Vu Bombay New York depicts fleeting moments from a dreamscape. A Bandra cab (top) awaits a green signal in Manhattan — we want to squint and check the taxi ceiling art; a dabbawala, squatting on his haunches alongside a hathgadi, watches trains pass him by; and an auto rickshaw stand parked under Brooklyn Bridge. Adukia’s creations nudge us to ponder if home becomes a trope for immigrant artists.
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She explains, “Immigrant art comprises diverse viewpoints — an artist’s relationship with the place they left, their relationship with the place they have moved to, and how they feel about moving places. I was certain that nothing else would make me feel the way Mumbai did. But life happened and I moved to New York in December, 2016. Soon, I started exploring the city with my memories of Mumbai in tow. The haunting similarities between the two cities, in terms of energy, lifestyle and diversity, made me feel at home.” Adukia adds that she probably fell in love with New York quickly, because she loved Mumbai so much.
Samiksha Adukia
She notes that the series is about two ideas occurring simultaneously and finding a shared space. “I have blurred the lines between two cities and induced a sense of belonging through art.” But did settling miles away change her approach to art? Adukia reflects on her art practice as an extremely thoughtful experience that seldom follows an impulse. And yet, undertaking art as her long lost hobby happened impulsively soon after she moved to New York, and she couldn’t be more grateful for that.
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