APOLLO MAGAZINE
By Izabella Scott
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| Cassandra (2009), Nalini Malani. Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi. Photo: Antonio Maniscalco |
In Christa Wolf’s novel
Cassandra (1983) the fall of Troy is retold from the perspective of Priam’s daughter. The figure of Cassandra appears in almost every room of ‘The Rebellion of the Dead’ (the second part of a retrospective organised by the Centre Pompidou and Castello di Rivoli) – set into paintings, video works and installations. The exhibition opens with a piece called The Tables Have Turned (2008), which consists of 32 Mylar cylinders, painted from the reverse side with sea creatures, limbs, letters, skulls, Old Testament figures and Hindu gods. (There is also a voiceover in which an actor reads from a stage version of Wolf’s novel.) Thanks to spotlights, the ink and acrylic figures cast shadows up the walls that combine to form mutant silhouettes. [
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| Mother India: Transactions in the Construction of Pain (2005), Nalini Malani. Courtesy the artist; photo: Antonio Maniscalco |
