PASSPORT
CANCELLED
JANUARY 6 – FEBRUARY 18, 2023
PRIYA KAMBLI
Artist and educator Priya Kambli's latest project, Passport Cancelled, blends together traditions of the photographic process with elements of sculpture and performance to create an immersive, poetic experience about identity as it relates to citizenship.
“In 2011, I gave up my Indian nationality to become an American citizen. Doing so meant having my Indian passport invalidated at the Indian consulate with a stamp stating “Passport cancelled as the holder has acquired Foreign Nationality”. Having lived in the United States for over 17 years it seemed odd to claim my American nationality as “foreign”. This bureaucratic, emotionless language invalidating my Indian nationality will be the departure point for a new body of work, striving to understand the formation and erasure of identity that is an inevitable part of the migrant experience.”
When beginning to walk through Priya Kambli’s exhibition, guests are met with messages which are mirrored across the doorway between galleries: I AM AN INDIAN, I AM A WOMAN, I AM AN AMERICAN; I AM NOT YOUR AMERICAN, I AM NOT YOUR WOMAN, I AM NOT YOUR INDIAN. The phrases are made up of stenciled sugar, a primary export of India. Each fragile letter sits atop floating shelves unadhered, placing them at the mercy of the slightest motions while building upon a powerful message.
Past the stenciled statements hangs a grid of simple, beautiful light and shadow studies with the artist’s cancelled Indian passport as the subject.
In one window, redacted legal language takes the form of letters die-cut from abstract gelatin silver prints. With this decontextualized presentation, Kambli has taken the cold, impersonal additions to her returned passport and given them a new identity, born of time, care, and intention.
In the other window, a sheet of white paper floats off the wall, blank aside from holes in its surface which recreate the perforated identification number on the original Indian passport.
With Passport Cancelled, Priya Kambli has presented a jarring and isolating experience of identity through delicate, thoughtful process.
This exhibition will be on view at Candela Gallery through Saturday, February 18th.
