From the Punjab to Lichtenstein

A lovely exhibition at Compton Verney

Chila Kumari Singh Burman was born in Liverpool in 1957. Her art work draws on many themes including her Hindu Punjabi heritage, and upbringing in Liverpool.

She became famous when she was commissioned to cover the entrance to Tate Britain in London with her neon sculptures. She's done the same at Compton Verney with a mix of 7 neon sculptures relating to her faith,(Kali and Krishna) mythology and festivals of light. Some were previously installed in Leicester Square Gardens in London.

I thought you might like a canter through some of the exhibits. Compton Verney is such a fabulous art gallery - it's fairly local to me so I go quite often!

Her work is characterised by layering materials, imagery and text to create a collage. She describes some of these pieces as "all blinged up with razor-sharp political awareness". What I liked about the images was the very different materials she uses from plastic spoons to bindis. She experiments and is inventive.

Talking of spoons, here's her plastic spoons with stickers and faux gems, glitter, gold leaf and paint on canvas.

Belly Jiggle 2024. Body print, acrylic paint on paper.

This is a new piece of work created for Compton Verney. She covered her naked  body in acrylic paint and pressed herself against a sheet of unique, lace-like paper to create an impression.

Burman has always used print making. She says "I still love printmaking because it's so versatile, democratic, colourful and creative: you can draw, you can paint, you can collage or use photography".

Below is a large example of that mixture of techniques and materials, along with some sketchbooks. 

Here's some close-ups of that piece so you can see the intracacy.

Floral Collages

This collage pays homage to the work of Pauline Body, the only femal member of the British pop art movement of the 1960's. This piece uses real flowers, floral lace, Indian embroidery, images of Hindu goddesses, items of clothing and other materials. It is supposed to celebrate femininity and femal empowerment.

And onto the bits that I think she is most famous for. Her neons. As well as Tate Britain, her sculptures have covered Liverpool Town Hall, Covent Garden's piazza and Brighton Pavilion. Many of her motifs also appear in her neons, and it's a very dramatic gallery full of light and colour.

I've included the little tuk tuk van as well, because it shows how brilliant Compton can be. It actually houses a video with Burman's thoughts and story running on a loop. Bean bags are on the floor, and it's all very lovely.

The Smile You Send ReturnsTo You 2024. Far left. This is a maquette of her proposed work for the Fourth Plinth commission in Trafalgar Square, London. It tells of her father's voyage to the UK from India, and is an turbo-charged imagining of his ice cream van, including lots of embellishments such as tigers and sweets. In the windows there are Bollywood film stills and Burman's father.

Below are experimental print making combined with plastic moulding. She used her drawings and collages and screen printed them onto plastic sheets, which were then moulded around three-dimensional objects including ice cream vans, sweet packaging and animals in a vacuum to form a plastic shell.

I've mentioned that a repetitive motif is a tiger. Below is Tiger, My Jaan, 2021. A giclee print on smooth cotton paper and finished with stickers and bindis.

And just before I go today, here's a small selection of other work. Note: she uses the ice lolly as a metaphor for the objectification of women - their phallic shapes are used to comment on the ways in which women are reduced to objects of desire.