Monica Rani Rudhar
We Were Connected in a More Complicated Way Than Either of Us Could Even Begin To Understand
6
March 2024
6
Mar
2024
29
Mar 2024
Gallery 2
We Were Connected in a More Complicated Way Than Either of Us Could Even Begin To Understand
Monica Rani Rudhar
6
March 2024
6
March
2024
29
March 2024
Gallery 2
This work explores how constructs such as re-incarnation and family mythology provide speculative ways in which we can re-imagine our past to understand the present time. Through a mythological dreamscape, I rebirth a story that aims to rectify my past, and the lives of my ancestors. Drawing on the ancient Indian practice of extracting yellow pigment, derived from cow urine after they have been fed mango leaves, I collapse and merge various personal timelines. These include the stories of my mother and her pet cow, Indian traditions passed down to me by my father, my mother’s mango cravings during her pregnancy and the sacredness of storytelling.
This work highlights the importance of preserving aural histories, especially as they possess ancestral guidance, resilience, and healing that can be taken into future generations.
We Were Connected in a More Complicated Way Than Either of Us Could Even Begin To Understand, Single Chanel Video, 5:46 (originally commissioned by the PowerHouse Museum Sydney)
This work explores how constructs such as re-incarnation and family mythology provide speculative ways in which we can re-imagine our past to understand the present time. Through a mythological dreamscape, I rebirth a story that aims to rectify my past, and the lives of my ancestors. Drawing on the ancient Indian practice of extracting yellow pigment, derived from cow urine after they have been fed mango leaves, I collapse and merge various personal timelines. These include the stories of my mother and her pet cow, Indian traditions passed down to me by my father, my mother’s mango cravings during her pregnancy and the sacredness of storytelling.
This work highlights the importance of preserving aural histories, especially as they possess ancestral guidance, resilience, and healing that can be taken into future generations.
Monica Rani Rudhar
Monica Rani Rudhar is an artist working on Gadigal Land across video, performance and sculpture. Born to Indian and Romanian migrant parents, her work speaks to longing and loss as she navigates the cultural disconnection that stems from the complexities of her multi-racial ethnicity. Her work is delicately personal and takes the shape of a restorative autobiographical archive that seeks to record her own histories where these stories can exist permanently, unlike those that have been passed down orally from her family which remain fragmented.
Monica graduated from UNSW Art and Design (Honours) in 2021, and has exhibited in NSW including; Pompom Galarie, Verge Gallery, Pari, Firstdraft, Tiles Lewisham and has performed at Carriage works as part of Vivid Sydney 2022. She has been commissioned by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and The Powerhouse Museum and was the recent winner of the 2023 Gosford Emerging Art Prize. She has recently had her first commercial solo show at with Martin Browne Contemporary which opened in October 2023.