Aurora Vessels

About

The exhibition Aurora Vessels explores a deeply empathic, communal feeling, one that anticipates the emergence of queer ecologies and shared narratives throughout current times. This evolution weaves together into a communal myth - an ever-evolving foundation that grounds the identities and collective imagination of queer entities.

Myth, by its very nature, is paradoxical: it is both a foundational tale and a falsehood. Myths are stories outside empirical truth that nevertheless offer frameworks for understanding profound, often inexplicable phenomena, frequently invoking the supernatural. Through this lens, myths ground the formation of selves and communities by providing symbolic structures that transcend empirical truths, yet capture essential, shared realities.
Devdutt Pattanaik argues that myths "capture the collective unconsciousness of a people"*; they reflect deep-rooted beliefs about variant sexualities that may be at odds with repressive social mores.
Myths are making politically queer claims on behalf of nature and time.
The fluid potentials of mythology destabilize hegemonic frameworks.
The gallery is divided into two "time capsules," each embodying an interconnected approach to queer manifestations. The first time capsule draws on ancient myths, reinterpreting mythic tales as open dialogues that speak to the fluidities of our own time. By reclaiming and queering these mythologies, the artists explore the timelessness of queer experiences - highlighting how echoes of these ancient stories remain potent guides for contemporary understandings of self and other.

In contrast, the second time capsule foregrounds the struggles and systemic oppressions that have shaped queer existence in our contemporary world. Through nuanced reflections on social marginalization, censorship, and identity politics, these works probe the forces that continue to constrain queer lives. Yet even here, myths become beacons of defiance and resilience. In this context, they emerge not only as a form of cultural heritage but as tools of survival, inviting us to reimagine worlds where queer people exist beyond persecution and erasure.

In "Aurora Vessels," queer mythology emerges as both a historical and revolutionary tool, disrupting entrenched binaries of fact and fiction, nature and culture, past and present. By drawing on decentralized narratives of socially repressed queerness, this exhibition seeks to amplify voices and stories that have been silenced, finding new vessels for their re-emergence. In this context, mythology is not simply a repository of ancient lore but a dynamic medium through which queer identity continues to evolve and be reimagined.
*Devdutt Pattanaik: The man who was a woman and other queer tales of Hindu lore, 2002.