Event 2: Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem

Last Friday I went to the Fowler museum to see the Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem art exhibit by Indian artist Vivan Sundaram. I have never been to the Fowler museum before and it was fascinating to see this museum for the first time.

The Fowler museum combined two bodies of work from Sundaram for the Making Strange exhibit. Gagawaka contains clothing made from recycled materials and medicinal supplies. This exhibit showcased dresses made out of surgical masks, bags of pills, and orthopedic supports among other materials. Many of these garments look like they would not be out of place on a fashion runway. It is fascinating what Sundaram was able to make from the materials he found.

The other body of work in the Making Strange exhibit was the Postmortem exhibit. Postmortem uses manikins and medical tools, like a stretcher or a model of the human thoracic cavity, in a way that made me think about the strangeness and fragility of our bodies. One such sculpture was a manikin that was meant to look like a ballerina but was somewhat damaged and was cut in half above the waist. Sundaram added a sculpture human anatomy inside the manikin. The result was an interesting sculpture that made me think of human mortality.

I highly recommend seeing this exhibit if you have the time. It is truly unique and will make you think about medicine and our bodies.

A picture of me at the Fowler Museum. The museum employees told me they were no longer allowed to take photos with guests so hopefully this photo is satisfactory.