Shilpa Gupta

Untitled, 2004

Shilpa Gupta belongs to an international recognized group of young media artists from India and is represented in the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection with the interactive video installation Untitled, 2004. The projection is eight meters wide, and shows seven young women (the artist herself in each case), dressed in camouflage uniforms. Freed of its original purpose, clothing makes an effect that oscillates between military drill and fashionable accessory; however, fashion created the camouflage style from military uniforms. This camouflage has several meanings in Gupta’s work: it shows style being adopted, and counts as an expression of fashion awareness. On the other hand, clothing and behavior articulate a demonstration against monopolization by the West. The seven animated figures, which can be actively controlled by the visitors, move according to programmed commands. Their instructions and statements, spoken as if they are automated, run on the floor in front of the projection.