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Internationally acclaimed artist Bharti Kher will open her first Australian solo exhibition next Friday at The University of Western Australia’s Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery for the Perth International Arts Festival.

Bharti Kher: In Her Own Language, curated by Margaret Moore, presents elegant yet diverse work and offers a window into the UK-born Indian artist’s richly textured practice.

Kher’s distinctive signature application of bindis (the forehead decoration worn by women throughout South East Asia) and saris combine with her sculptural figures.

Central to the exhibition will be VIRUS, a commanding work of 10,000 bindis formed into a mandala.

Bharti Kher said 'in the bindi works there are possibilities to look at the macrocosm and microcosm; to see the relationship of our own body in the world as we live and to experience the outer body as cosmic or even otherworldly'.

“It’s a language that I have invented I suppose and developed over time and practice to make sense and question my ideas in the work I make both as a figurative and abstract artist," she said.

UWA Cultural Precinct Director Professor Ted Snell is delighted Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery is hosting Kher’s first solo exhibition in Australia, believing it will resonate with audiences.

“Bharti Kher’s work looks at meaning, mythology and identity and presents a thoroughly modern view of culture and life,” Professor Snell said.

“We’re a city and state where cultures collide and coalesce all the time, often without us even realising it. Seeing how an artist can deliberately work with and shape those concepts is very exciting.

“I’m very glad the artist will join us in Perth to accompany such an excellent illustration of her work at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.”

Bharti Kher: In Her Own Language runs 18 February to 16 April 2016 at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. Entry is free.

Caption: Cloud Walker, 2013, fibreglass, wooden rake, sari, resin, stone, steel, 186 x 115 x 93cm. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

Media references

John McCarten on 0403 900 193 or [email protected]