Identity as Presence—and Absence
“Actions — yours and mine — shape our identity. Often given, imposed, but also acquired.”
Rajesh Pullarwar’s practice stems from his long-standing engagement with the lived realities of everyday people and his deep concern with social inequalities. This exhibition is an artistic investigation into the fiction, fluidity, and fragility of identity in a democratic, yet unequal society.
Apne Hisse Mein Suraj raises a quiet but urgent question: Does the sun shine equally upon each one of us? Through a body of monochrome, achromatic works, Pullarwar explores how identity is both constructed and erased—from and to ambiguity. His figures, often silhouetted and faceless, emerge from a field of darkness, marked by the materials of charcoal and soot. Their anonymity reflects the realities of countless people who remain unseen by systems of power, memory, and justice.
Between Memory and Metaphor
One of the striking visuals is a sea of billowing clouds—majestic, yet ominous—interrupted by tiny, scattered human forms. These forms lack grounding, and yet are burdened with meaning. They are metaphors of existence lost in abstraction, as if identity itself were a cloud—ephemeral, ever-shifting.
The imagery echoes a haunting personal memory: During the COVID-19 lockdown, the artist's  persistent efforts for 74 hours to save an estranged dying man on the footpath outside his window turned futile. This moment—raw, helpless, unjust—brought home a painful truth: in a state meant to uphold the dignity of each citizen, some lives remain unacknowledged, invisible, abandoned.
As migrant workers trudged across India with little aid and animals went hungry on empty streets, Rajesh responded with food, compassion, and—eventually—art. These works are a product of those fractured times. They ask: Are values like empathy, solidarity, and recognition still relevant in our civic culture?
Curator’s Reflection
“We, as humans, are perennially invested in exploring identity. Not just philosophically or spiritually, but also socially and politically. Rajesh Pullarwar’s works show us that identity is not a given, but a process—sometimes a fiction, other times a fight.
Apne Hisse Mein Suraj is not about answers, but invocations. It invites you to witness the artist’s attempt to hold memory, meaning, and morality in fragile equilibrium. It is about ambiguity. About asking who we really are—beyond names, roles, and imposed meanings.”
— Nikhil Purohit, Curator