Interview Artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman
On display until 7 June, the exhibition offers the chance to get up close with Burman’s colourful installations, which merge Hindu mythology and British iconography, and Bollywood glamour with childhood memories.
Brought up in Liverpool and educated at London’s Slade School of Fine Art, Burman was a key figure in the British Black Arts movement in the 1980s, experimenting across printmaking, painting, drawing, installation and film. She uses her practice to examine representation and cultural identity, and challenge stereotypical assumptions of South Asian women in the UK.
As well as being only the fourth artist to be selected for the Tate Britain Winter Commission, she has completed high-profile commissions at Covent Garden’s historic market building, Liverpool’s FACT and Town Hall, and was awarded an MBE for her services to the arts in 2022.
THE WICK: Who is your Monday Muse?
Chila Kumari Singh Burman: My Monday Muse would be my acupuncturist Meena Sarin because she keeps me together and she’s a cosmic woman.
TW: You describe yourself as ‘Punjabi Liverpudlian’. How has your heritage influenced your work?
CB: Both my parents are Hindu Punjabi. Punjabis are very witty, exuberant, fun, smart and love dressing up to the eyeballs like Scousers. Being Punjabi and Liverpudlian is a dynamic combination. I’m influenced by every second of the moment in the world.
TW: What do you see the role of public art to be?
CB: I see the role of public art as being able to bring joy and illuminate the world, bringing life and light to everyone.
TW: Why does neon excite you as a medium?
CB:
Neons excite me as they work well with my drawings – they can bend and they’re full of light. I love their OTT glow.
“Being Punjabi and Liverpudlian is a dynamic combination. I’m influenced by every second of the moment in the world.”
