Lot 58: Untitled

Jagannath Panda (b. 1970)
Untitled
signed and dated 'Jagannath Panda 05' (lower right); signed and dated again 'Jaganath Panda 2005 3 x 9ft' (on the reverse of each panel); signed again 'Jagannath Panda 05' (on lower panel)
acrylic on canvas
108 x 36 1/8 in. (274.5 x 92 cm.) triptych
Painted in 2005

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I had painted a series on interiors, and this work emerged from there. By making it a triptych, I liked being able to see the work as three different scenes occurring within one space. It is unnatural to have honeybees hovering over meat, and I wanted to create this feeling of ambiguity and uncanniness within the work by juxtaposing the two. Bees are known to be social insects and to me they represent the idea of mass habitation and migration, while the decaying flesh is representative of a larger body of corruption and dishonesty. Though bees don't feed on meat, the insects here are attracted to something that is an illusion as it presents a possibility that isn't real for them. This correlates to my own concerns of migration as the ever expanding suburbs in India allure the new immigrant with their townships which are often empty promises (in conversation with the artist)