It is easy to get swept up in the beauty of the brightly coloured, intricately patterned fabrics that create ਸ਼ੀਸ਼ੇ ‘ਚਤਰੇੜ | sheeshe ‘ch tharer | a crack in the mirror, a visually satiating exhibition by Surrey artist Simranpreet Anand with Conner Singh VanderBeek, which is touring to the Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery from October 26, 2024 to February 15, 2025, from the Reach Gallery in Abbotsford. Upon closer inspection, the viewer can see the hardened, curling edges of the fabric panels, proof of the melted plastics contained within.
In the Sikh faith, objects and materials are considered sacred if they have come into contact with sacred scripture or the eternal Guru, the Guru Granth Sarib. These materials, often made of cotton or other natural fibres, would eventually be cremated at the end of their life. As contemporary society has moved to a mass-produced economy, more and more of the materials used in ceremony are made with plastics. Instead of releasing sacred energy, they release toxic fumes, explains guest curator Sajdeep Soomal in the 2017 exhibition catalogue produced by the Reach.
The title, Sheeshe ‘ch tharer, comes from the work of mid-century poet Shiv Kumar Bhatalvi, which tells the story of a newly married woman who contemplates how the path of married life starts to fracture her worldview, and thus a crack appears in her vanity mirror. “The crack in the mirror marks the apocalyptic-yet-ordinary when your way of thinking – your particular mindset – starts to fracture and is broken open by the force of experience,” writes Soomal.
Anand’s work explores the Sikh and Punjab diaspora, often through textiles, language, and photographs. It examines the traditional role of women in Indian culture and offers a new perspective on the rigid confines of worship.
“This exhibition investigates how materials can and do carry complex cultural connotations,” says Nelson Museum curator Arin Fay. “The conversation that Simranpreet Anand and Conner Singh VanderBeek are presenting within the gallery, which has been transformed into a layered, colourful and opulent space, speaks to these complexities and the manufacture, global shipping and usage of textiles, both decorative and profound, to grapple with the concept of diaspora, faith and community.”