Kahani Exhibition

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The Hindi word kahani translates as ‘story’ or ‘an account of events’. In this kahani, multimedia artist Deshna Shah explores her own cultural heritage as a neurodivergent British South Asian growing up in the UK. The exhibition presents a new, site-specific sensory iteration of her distinctive sculptural installations, all of which are made from rice. Formed into coded symbols, the rice formations are a manifestation of Shah’s own ‘Twilight Language’. She developed this from 2019 onwards, incorporating elements of Gujarati, Hindi and English. This enigmatic alphabet offers the chance to voice unsaid questions, taboos and avowals. Shah made a public request for letters between loved ones, letters which revealed unspoken issues. She has anonymised and translated them into her language and reformed them into the spirals seen here in the trio of woodblock prints, and into immersive sculptures such as that which covers the gallery floor. 

The use of rice is also a reference to her own upbringing: a memory of beloved recipes passed down from grandmother to mother, mother to daughter. An echo of creating Rangoli patterns (celebratory designs created at Diwali); a Jain emblem of breaking free of the cycle of rebirth; and a universal symbol of energy in Indian traditions. The rice acts as a quasi-symbol for her internal conflict, and a celebration of her dual Indian and English heritage, mediating juxtaposing identities. For the first time Shah has introduced additional elements into her rice installation; notably the house situated within the floor sculpture and smells, which hold distinct memories for the artist. 

As a teen she would often be ashamed of the strong smells - food, incense and cooking - which infused her home, and try and mask them in an attempt to fit in with her friends. These smells now hold a different meaning to her. She has reclaimed them, meditating upon and mediating the politics of scent in relation to power, religion, class, culture and national identity. By placing the source of the smell inside the translucent house within the gallery, Shah actively invites visitors to enter the symbol of her childhood home to experience a small part of her childhood, to reframe her own past as she openly shares her cultural aromas. 

Deshna Shah was the winner of the Emery Prize 2021.