In Letter and Spirit showcases a collection of works by three exemplary artists, whose works each highlight the graphic beauty of text. Saubiya Chasmawala, Youdhisthir Maharjan and Muzzumil Ruheel, all come from a variety of contexts, but their work stands united by the intricacy and intimacy with which they approach the idea of text.
Chasmawala, a recent graduate of MS University, Baroda, uses text in her work primarily as symbolic. The letters make no words and the words no sentences which allow her to grapple with her identity and ideas of transience through text that has been inaccessible to her until her college years.
The intricate detail with which New Hampshire-based Maharjan approaches the deconstruction of text in pages of books is impeccable. His collages focus on the materiality of the page, and each of his works examine the notions of erasure and rewriting, completely separating the physicality of the text from its inherent meaning.
Based in Karachi, Ruheel engages Urdu calligraphy to delve into the issues that arise with mundane written narratives and how they operate within history at large. His work questions how we constantly write, and then subsequently present the stories of the past in the present.
Poet, cultural theorist and curator Ranjit Hoskote brings together the works of each of the artists in a beautifully-penned essay, highlighting each individual practice as if this was a collection of three solo exhibitions.
