Lot 78: THUKRAL & TAGRA (B. 1976; B. 1979)

THUKRAL & TAGRA (B. 1976; B. 1979) I LIKE MY MAN COVERED TOO signed and dated NOV 06 on the reverse Signed and inscribed THUKRAL & TAGRA/ TITLE:/ MEDIUM: ACRYLIC, OIL ON CANVAS, APLIQUE (CLOTH)/ DATED: NOV 06/ SIZE: (6 x 6) on reverse Acrylic on canvas with cloth appliqué 72 by 72 in. (182.9 by 182.9 cm.)

Bose Pacia, New York, Thukral & Tagra: Put It On, April - June 2007

Bose Pacia Gallery, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the current owner

'Thukral and Tagra may most resemble the Japanese wunderkind Takashi Murakami, he of the cartoon figures that cavort from paintings to designer handbags to mass produced souvenirs to precious Jewelry. What all these artists share is a celebratory attitude towards their cultural products, foregrounding that act of making over the act of editing, preferring production over theorization.' (Thukral & Tagra, Nature Morte and Bose Pacia, Exhibition catalogue, p. 7)

Based in New Delhi, Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra work collaboratively in a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, installation, video, graphic and product design, Web sites, music and fashion. Their works are inspired by fashion and advertising as much by art history, they combine cutting-edge computer graphics with retro-styled accessories, they are among the new generation of young Indian artists who defy easy classifications. Their art often presents a synthesis of the multiple mediums in which they work. The paintings are hung on vinyl wall-papers of their own design and fashion products are presented as store-like displays.

'I Prefer My Man Covered Too' was part of T&T's first exhibition in New York that addressed the problem of HIV and AIDS in India. The title itself is a play on words imitating the slogans of contemporary advertising. The project presented a range of probable solutions for HIV awareness in India by exploring different avenues for the dissemination of information to the vast population of India. Whilst in New York Thukral and Tagra worked alongside a group already developing HIV/AIDs awareness campaigns in India and suggested using some of their products to promote awareness. The two products were a pair of flip flop sandals, imprinted with diagrams of how to put a condom on, to distribute to the poor and illiterate, who are the most at risk of contracting the disease and conversely a pair of designer underpants with a designer 'Put it on' waistband to offer to the urban well off to provide a comic way of broaching the subject of safe sex. 'They conceived a series of works... around the act of condom use, bringing humour to the process of demystification. The centerpieces of the show were large-scale paintings that illustrated couples of all genders sleeping amid T&T signature devices (their logo print pattern turned into crumpled bedsheets...) ' ('Put it On', Bose Pacia, 2007, p.29).

The project is typical of the artistic pair who intentionally blur the boundary lines between fine art, advertising and global branding. 'Advertising is one of the most powerful mechanisms of communication to a broad audience; as such it has long been a source of inspiration for artists. Even as Thukral and Tagra use contemporary viral marketing tools, social conscious branding and super graphics, their paintings appear almost anachronistic. I am not talking here about their subject matter which is very much drawn from contemporary lifestyle advertising - sculpted attractive young bodies, lying in various states of repose in figure flattering underwear. These bodies are lying on and under attractive patterned bed linens that suggest a social location of consumer desire while optically activating and abstracting the picture surface...' (ibid. p.41).