Four Star Pieces That You Shouldn’t Miss at ‘Examples To Follow’

"Flooded McDonald's" by Superflex (2008)

“Examples to follow!” is an ambitious five-gallery show organised by the governments of India and Germany that comes to us after travelling around the world for a year. Its aim is to explore “expeditions in aesthetics and sustainability” and what that translates to is a look at how we’ve pretty much made a mess of the world in the last hundred years or so. There’s plenty of damning evidence on display, much of it crafted into such unexpectedly pretty form that you might well wonder how the same hands could have wrought such destruction. You can attempt to visit all five in a day—there are nearly 50 artists showcasing some fantastic work that’s never been shown here—though we suggest breaking it up over a couple of days. Though the shows are fundamentally linked by theme, they exist as independent examinations of our un eco-friendly ways. Four star attractions that you shouldn’t miss:

GALLERY MASKARA
Warehouse on Third Pasta Lane, 6/7 Third Pasta Lane, Colaba. Tel: 2202 3056. Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm; Sunday-Monday, closed.
“Flooded McDonald’s” by Superflex (2009)
Danish art collective Superflex reconstructed an entire McDonald’s outlet in a swimming pool, then flooded it for an agonising and mesmerising 21 -minute film, where French fries, cash registers and trash bins gradually get submerged in dank opaque waters. At several points you’re brought down below by the camera, at eye level with the deluge as stale fries float past in a whirl of plastic chairs and garbage. Despite its very specific American references—Hurricane Katrina is the immediate one—there’s a broader hint at the fury of nature that may well bring the Mumbai monsoon deluge of July 26, 2005 to mind.

PROJECT 88
BMP Building, Ground Floor, N. A. Sawant Marg, Colaba. Tel: 2281 0066/99. Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm, Monday, 2pm to 7pm, Sunday, closed.
“The New York Times Special Edition” by The Yes Men (2008)
The Yes Men is a group of social activists/imposters who bill themselves as “exposing, perhaps deviously, the nastiness of powerful evildoers”. Among their many hijinks (they famously impersonated a representative of Union Carbide explaining their position on the Bhopal disaster) as they call them was publicly distributing a fake edition of The New York Times in 2008, dated for the next year, and reflecting news that was perhaps wishful thinking. The paper is on display at Project 88, where you can examine their chilling and cheeky facsimile with headlines like: “Iraq War Ends”, “After Withdrawal, Peace Spreads to Conflict Zones Worldwide”, and our personal favourite, a resignation letter from Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The stunt was eventually turned into a documentary, which will be screened on Saturday, March 10 at Max Mueller Bhavan.

PREMCHAND ROYCHAND GALLERY
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, 159/161 M. G. Road, Fort. Tel: 2284 4484. Tuesday to Sunday, 10.15am to 6pm, Monday closed.
“The Guide” by Clement Price-Thomas (2007-2010)
When British artist Clement Price-Thomas exhibited this breathing pile of leaves in Central Park in New York (watch it here), it prompted more than a few double-takes. Installed here in the corridor leading up to the Premchand Roychand Gallery, it surprisingly then elicits from the viewer the same sense of unexpected delight, particularly at the exact moment you realise that these dead leaves are seemingly sighing in despondent repose.

“Heteroptera—Images of a Mutating World” by Cornelia Hesse Honegger (1987-until today)
At first glance, the illustrations of Swiss scientific illustrator Cornelia Hesse Honegger appear to be just pretty drawings of jewel-toned insects. Closer examination—in addition to the drawings, there’s a magnifying glass handy to examine actual preserved specimens—reveals that these insects, found in Chernobyl, Ukraine, have been mutated from the radioactive fallout. Stumpy antennas, legs growing out of feelers, scarred wings and missing limbs; Honegger’s delicate hand renders the monstrosity in such elegant form that it’s easy to forget the horror of what you’re looking at.

Relevant DatesUntil Saturday, March 10

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