Hetain Patel | Trinity: A Prologue

In anticipation of the India release of Hetain Patel’s new film TRINITY at the gallery in January 2022, we are pleased to open an exhibition of the artist’s existing work covering 18 years of practice, much of which has never been seen before in the country.

The exhibition includes photography, video and documentation of performance.

Sacred Bodies Series
Photographic prints
2004/5

The artist’s earliest work comprised photographic self-portraiture imbued with a performative element. In Sacred Bodies, Patel focussed on pigments from rituals and ceremonies he grew up with as a child of South Asian parents based in the UK. These pigments are strong signifiers of his Indian identity. The Kanku and Mehndi works show the end result of self imposed rituals in which the artist took up to six hours to decorate his own body with these materials. The work entitled Gajra references wedding ceremonies and sees Patel wrapping his body with an exaggeratedly long garland, going beyond adornment almost into restraint.

Baa’s Gold 10
2021
Duration: 32 mins 53 secs
Commissioned by The National Gallery, London

Baa’s Gold 10 recounts the story of the burglary of Hetain Patel’s ‘Baa’ – or grandmother in Gujarati – whilst at home in Bolton, UK, where she lived alone. In a pursuit for gold, Patel’s Baa endured a violent ordeal at the hands of a gang of men who specifically targeted Hindu widows for their cultural tradition of only wearing gold jewellery. As the story is recounted multiple times in the form of a spoken screenplay by a group of performers, Baa regains her own agency, enacting revenge in the final version of the screenplay.

Patel’s performances process events from his own biography through a range of media, often recounting these stories in various ways. Patel presents his own domestic British Indian story in amongst the Western canon of art history as equally epic and fantastical, using both the traditional act of live performance, and the modern form of cinematic storytelling.

Don’t Look: Hetain Patel & Amy May
2021
Duration: 59 mins 15 secs

From epic Hollywood-like scores to Gujarati rap, visual artist and performer Hetain Patel presents an evening of his film works with new music written and arranged by composer Amy May. Featured works include the U.S. premiere of Patel’s award-winning Afro Kung Fu spectacle, Don’t Look at the Finger, and the world premiere of new music by May as part of Patel’s film God is a DJ.

Hosted by Patel and May from the Genesis Cinema in London, the evening is woven together with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and Patel’s unique brand of humour, performance, and politics.

This work was commissioned by Rich Mix and Sadler’s Wells London, with support from Film and Video Umbrella. This work was adapted by Asia Society Museum, New York for the inaugural Asia Society Triennial: “We Do Not Dream Alone” U.S. premiere.