India Art Fair's (IAF) 15^th edition was held from February 1-4, 2024 at the fair’s usual home at NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi. There were many engaging artworks, across scale, medium and subject matter at the fair, which enthralled both Indian and international audiences. Among these, Provenance by Doyel Joshi and Neil Ghose Balser was particularly compelling, for its commentary on the art fair itself. The project that led to this durational artwork was undertaken with support from Howareyoufeeling.studio and materialised as a massive monolith of red ice blocks, melting and flowing over the art festival's lifespan. It symbolised the ephemeral nature of the event and prompted audiences to reflect on the fleeting beauty of art and existence. The artists connected with STIR at the fair to discuss the monolithic installation art piece.

Joshi and Balser are of Marwari Indian and Indo-German origin respectively and live and work between India and Germany. Howareyoufeeling.studio is the product of their collaborative art-making and acts as a platform for the duo to undertake bold material explorations that are as socially driven as they are deeply personal.

Both the colour red and the use of ice as a material are hallmarks of Howareyoufeeling.studio’s practice. Joshi discusses the former, telling STIR, “It’s a colour that repeats itself in our practice a lot…we’ve both felt displaced in who we are. On the one hand, we want to hold on to the rich heritage and the culture of the background that we come from, but there are things in that culture that we contend with as well. Especially for me at least, from a female perspective, coming from a more traditional background, there are elements that are necessary to emancipate oneself from, that may seem as though they should be held onto because they are part of that culture.” She explains that, for the duo, “red is home”. They see it as the colour of India, however, they use a hue within their practice that is neither the Rajasthani red, which would have spoken directly to Joshi’s background, nor one that is the Bengali red, which would have addressed Balser’s Indian roots. The red that Howareyoufeeling.studio uses is a call to home that is entirely their own.

We want to hold on to the rich heritage and the culture of the background that we come from, but there are things in that culture that we contend with as well. – Doyel Joshi, Co-founder, Howareyoufeeling.studio.

Provenance, as it was exhibited at IAF 2024, is but the latest iteration of the studio’s articulation in ice. In the past, they have exhibited Provenance at a defunct 150-year-old ice factory in Mumbai that has become an events space. There, the monolithic sculpture brought to attention the value of temporary, transient art and spaces; it would seem as though the metaphor of transience has stuck through to IAF 2024, as Provenance was one of the few works at the fair that could not be purchased in any form. In creating a major work entirely out of ice, Joshi and Balser have cleverly subverted the very concept of ownership. As Joshi puts it, “...when you buy art, you're hopefully buying it because you have an emotional resonance with it and something about it moves you. But here, we’re questioning this sense of ownership and asking when you look at it, can you be moved by it (for better or for worse)...but can you detach yourself from that (need for ownership).”

During STIR’s conversation with Joshi, an audience member asked her if she knew exactly how long the ice would take to melt completely. The artist responded, saying, “We’ve done tests, but nature does its thing. Ice itself is nature and will melt as it does.” She mentioned that the duo was not able to factor in rain during the fair and that it could potentially cause the artwork’s lifecycle to change.

As the duo told STIR after our interview with Joshi, the audience members who engaged with Provenance had interesting responses. To some, the crimson hue of the piece evoked the raw intensity of passion, or brought to mind past sorrows, while others associated the work with menstruation. Such multifarious interpretations are themselves a product of Provenance’s fluidity and should be welcomed, as they stand as a testament to the challenging and provocative nature of Joshi and Balser’s offering at this year’s edition of IAF.

The 15^th edition of India Art Fair, the leading platform showcasing contemporary and modern art from India and South Asia took place from February 1-4, 2024 in New Delhi. Click here to explore STIR’s (Strategic Media Partner with IAF 2024) highlights from the event.