Schandra Singh: Press release

Schandra Singh wants to whisk us off to Paradise. Not the version thought to be crammed with angelic virgins but the one that comes equipped with heated swimming pools, artificial lagoons, gated estates, sunscreens and festive floatation devices. Schandra Singh wants us to reimagine this Paradise as a people-zoo. A place to see real people pretending to enjoy themselves in dioramas and concentric cages of their own choosing. Schandra Singh wants to re-image Paradise–frame a kind of Expressionist vacation slideshow where promises of escape-ism turn out to be Faustian lures for carnivalesque scenes of beached carnage. Hers is not a Paradise Lost but a Paradise Askew.




VOLTA NY: AGE OF ANXIETY		VIEW COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE
As an artist whose cultural heritage stems from India and Austria, Schandra Singh uses the mode of storytelling of the Indian miniature painter juxtaposed with inspirations of the irony and satire found in Expressionism and Neo-expressionism.


THE SUN IS NOT RIDICULOUS		VIEW COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE
Schandra Singh wants to whisk us off to Paradise. Not the version thought to be crammed with angelic virgins but the one that comes equipped with heated swimming pools, artificial lagoons, gated estates, sunscreens and festive floatation devices. Schandra Singh wants us to reimagine this Paradise as a people-zoo. A place to see real people pretending to enjoy themselves in dioramas and concentric cages of their own choosing. Schandra Singh wants to re-image Paradise–frame a kind of Expressionist vacation slideshow where promises of escape-ism turn out to be Faustian lures for carnivalesque scenes of beached carnage. Hers is not a Paradise Lost but a Paradise Askew.


AROUND AND AROUND 1000 TIMES		VIEW COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE
In her exhibition entitled Around and Around 1000 Times, Schandra Singh presents large-scale paintings that address the issue of escapism as a means of coping with suffering. Her characters attempt to manage their inner crises and conflicts by fleeing from their fears, guilt, or responsibilities through various forms of leisure activity. Singh intentionally selects the silliest means possible to ironically underscore the weightiness of the struggles she explores, as many of her adult subjects try to occupy themselves with recreational activities often associated with children.