Bonington Gallery exhibition - Osheen Siva - Karuppu

Originally from Thiruvannamalai in South India, and currently based in Goa, Siva is an acclaimed artist whose practice encompasses painting, drawing, performance, and public art. As a digital illustrator they have collaborated with leading global brands including Apple, Gucci, and Meta.

Taking a cue from Afrofuturism, Siva’s work brings together science fiction, mythology, heritage, their love of comic books, and the vibrant colours of South India to create fantastical characters and dreamscapes, reclaiming and reinventing Indian folktales and myths to imagine a decolonised future.

Siva’s work is rooted in their Dalit and Tamil heritage.  Dalit translates as ‘broken, divided, split, shattered’ and Dalits are among India’s most marginalised citizens, condemned to the lowest echelons of society by a rigid caste hierarchy. Karuppu (கருப்பு), meaning darkness or black in Tamil, carries associations with ‘evil’ in Hindu mythology and is often used to refer to members of the lower caste, historically known as ‘untouchables’.

Siva’s Dalit Futurism reclaims the word Karuppu, seeking to invert and transform the arbitrary structure of caste through a narrative of mutation and hybridity. The beautiful mutant characters serve as a metaphor, challenging assigned social status and established histories with non-binary fluidity, championing bodily autonomy, and highlighting queer and feminine power.

Central to the exhibition is the reclamation and reinvention of Indian mythologies.  Siva’s work critiques Hindu scriptures and ancient Sanskrit texts that perpetuate the discrimination of lower-caste individuals. Deliberately countering the lack of positive imagery associated with Dalit communities, Siva creates progressive depictions, envisioning a future that transcends existing stereotypes.

Exploring their heritage in the farming communities of Tamil Nadu, nature is a recurring motif in Siva’s work.  Acting as a dual symbol, the natural world conveys fruitfulness and abundance and also highlights the trauma associated with labour and bondage, creating a complex dialogue between nature and social hierarchy.

The exhibition includes drawings and paintings, collaborative tapestries crafted with local woman artisans, and the incorporation of leather, laden with political and caste contexts in India. Siva navigates the complexities of Dalit history, offering a powerful and evocative exploration of identity, resistance, and the quest for a liberated future.

This exhibition has developed from an introduction to Osheen Siva’s practice via an event hosted by Bonington Gallery in October 2022 exploring Adivasi and Dalit Futurism, also featuring artist Subash Thebe Limbu. This was part of Formations, an ongoing public events series foregrounding under-represented artists, writers, thinkers, and activists, run by NTU’s Postcolonial and Global Studies Research Group and Bonington Gallery. The conversation can be viewed here

About the artist

Osheen Siva is a multidisciplinary artist from Thiruvannamalai, based in Goa. Through the lens of surrealism, speculative fiction and science fiction and rooted in their Dalit and Tamil heritage, Siva imagines new worlds of decolonized dreamscapes, futuristic oasis with mutants and monsters and narratives of queer and feminine power. They work in a variety of mediums including immersive media, installations, performance art, public art and illustration. Past clients have included - National Geography, The New York Times, Adult Swim, Meta, Absolut, Dr.Martens, Decolonize Fest among others. They were also an Illustration Jury member ADC's 100th Annual Awards in 2021 and a recipient of Forbes 30 under 30 (Asia and India) in 2022. They have exhibited work in Mumbai, New Delhi, South Korea, Nepal, Paris, and London so far.

Website - osheensiva.com

Instagram - @osheen.siva