Mona Sharma, detail of Bebe, 2011.
Through her sculptural work, Mona Sharma confronts the human penchant for constant, unwavering, unquestioning faith, as companion, bulwark and guide through our lives. With soft and seemingly playful materials, the objects Sharma creates deal with trauma, destruction and disaster. Rather than dwelling on vast tragedies such as 9/11, we are often presented with “smaller” disasters, those that exist on a more personal scale. The murder of a family, the terrorist bombing of one passenger plane, the territorial disembarkment refusal of a boat-full of refugees, a dead bird, a grandmother’s funeral pyre.
Side by side with these human disasters we find meditations on natural disasters; the Earth breaking faith with our attempts to tame her, reminding us that we are far from being in control.
Click here to see the setup and reception for “The Loss and Reclamation of Faith ” by Mona Sharma
“I am a Montreal-based artist of Indian descent who works primarily in soft sculpture and graphic drawing, two mediums whose accessible exteriors lend well to subversive acts. As a Montrealer whose family emigrated from India in the early 80s, the duality of my cultural background has maintained as a crucial inspiration in my practice. Directly inspired by tensions induced by the diverse nature of my background, my goal through art has been to foster a more critical understanding of how we form as individuals and function as a society. I create narratives that reveal, mislead and build towards a golden moment when viewers realize their role in shaping, supporting or suppressing those around them.
The Loss and Reclamation of Faith deals with the precarious state of the Canadian identity. Through a variety of factors, including increased immigration and the advancement of communication technology, the lines that once etched out who we are have been washed away by a sea of questions regarding the value of nationalism and religion and the responsibilities of the global citizen. We live in a time when the magnitude of historical events can barely be established considering the amount of information, both relevant and frivolous, that is hurled at us every moment. In reflection, we often experience doubt over what can be included in our own histories. My goal with this series is to create an accessible and contemplative environment in which viewers can meditate on their role against an increasingly complex and volatile backdrop. I do this by constructing narratives based on news bulletins and historical facts which I felt were pertinent to all Canadians, as well as personal narratives which lend intimacy to the work. More specifically, I highlight scenarios that questioned popular assumptions about Canadian culture, like its openness towards multiculturalism or its supreme oneness with nature. Through hanging, wall and floor elements, it is my intent to create environments reminiscent of dreamscapes, where events decades in the past can coexist with those plucked from current headlines, where viewers can feel as though they have been given a kind of permission to engage with the events represented in a way that would otherwise be denied to them.”
— Mona Sharma
Images: Opening reception, 2013.