Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre presents Doug Aitken’s spectacular art exhibition, ‘Under the Sun’
In this photo essay, we showcase a range of outstanding artworks on display at NMACC in Mumbai.
Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 925 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai has unveiled the first exhibition in India of acclaimed multimedia artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken. Titled Under the Sun, the exhibition will run till the end of February (see our earlier coverage of exhibitions at this popular Mumbai art hub here).
“Now in our third year since we launched NMACC, we are excited to present this collaborative exhibition that realises the institution’s mission to foster global artistic exchange,” Isha Ambani said during the launch of the exhibition.
The showcase is curated by Vienna-based Mafalda Kahane and London-based Roya Sachs. It is co-produced by Elizabeth Edelman Sachs, founding partner of the creative house TRIADIC.
The exhibition presents multiple site-specific artworks, many of which are the result of a two-year collaboration between Aitken’s studio and Indian artisans. This blending of local craftsmanship with Aitken’s artistic practice makes the exhibition experience unique.
The three floors showcase wood art, paintings, an immersive movie, and a sound-art installation. The exhibition is aptly described as being “grounded in the handmade, expanded by the digital, and illuminated by the infinite.”
The first floor of the exhibition is titled Past and features wood, glass, and textile art. The second floor’s video installation, New Era, explores the role of mobile phones and satellite connectivity.
The artworks on the first floor are made from carved wood, reclaimed debris, woven fabrics, embroidery, and stained-glass. They fuse seemingly disparate elements into an integrated environment, invoking natural landscapes, traditional crafts, and maritime exploration.
The floor of pebbles and ropes combines with reclaimed wood and robotic milled artworks in a fascinating blend. Closer inspection of the textile pieces on the walls reveals intricate craftwork with Indian rivers represented as veins of the hands.
The textile works reportedly represent nearly 600 hours of meticulous craftsmanship by a team of around ten artisans. They were chosen by Doug Aitken’s studio and Mumbai-based Milaaya Embroidery House.
The second floor’s kaleidoscopic environment of mirrored walls and shifting screens provides a suitable immersive experience for a film featuring cellphone inventor Martin Cooper. Voiceovers of what it means to have global connectivity accompany footage of urban and seaside panoramas.
The third-floor exhibit is titled The Future, and features a cylindrical installation of dozens of LED rods accompanied by soundscapes. It is intended to be an ever-changing symbol of evolution and possibility.
The contrast between pulsating light imagery and wooden flooring catches the viewer’s eye. Visitors can also sit down on cushions on the floor and immerse themselves in the hypnotic drone soundscape and shape-shifting light patterns.
US artist Doug Aitken is known for his outstanding artworks that transform museums, landscapes, and architectural spaces into multi-sensory experiences. These include wrapping the exterior of the Museum of Modern Art in moving images in Sleepwalkers (2007) and building mirrored houses in the Southern California desert for Mirage (2017–2021).
“The interplay of traditional design and craft with contemporary digital technology reflects the incredible history of creativity and innovation in India, as brought to life by Under the Sun,” Isha Ambani explains.
The provocative works invite viewers to perceive the world – and themselves – in a new, inspiring and even meditative light. Overall, the landscape of light, sound and material is well showcased in the three-part journey, tracking humanity’s relationship with nature, technology, and time itself.
“Under the Sun creates a bridge between Indian and Western cultures—a dialogue across time and material. It is a kind of modern mythology—a landscape of artworks that question where we are going and reflect on where we have been,” Doug Aitken explains.
Under the Sun is the third exhibition organised by TRIADIC as part of a curatorial residency at NMACC’s Art House. The earlier exhibitions were Liminal Gaps and Run as Slow as Slow as You Can.
TRIADIC is a curatorial house that specialises in cross-disciplinary, experience-based art. Its mission is to democratise art, and its engagements often fuse large-scale installations, music, design, and performances.
“The pieces in Under the Sun are hypnotic and exploratory—they shift between the organic and the virtual. Each floor has its own pulse: the physicality of natural materials, moving-image representation, and pure energy in motion,” Aitken describes.
As shown in this photo essay, his multi-media works span a wide variety of categories such as film, photography, sculpture, video, and architecture. His artworks inspire awe about our natural and built environments while also questioning our technologically-driven era.
Opened in 2023, NMACC’s vision is to preserve and promote India's rich culture and heritage while also engaging in global artistic exchange. Its public spaces also include a wide range of art installations by leading Indian and international artists.
“We are excited to have provided a forum where Doug Aitken and talented artisans from across the country together have created new works that tell an immersive, experiential story that will resonate deeply with both Indian and global audiences,” Ambani signs off.
Now, what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
(All photographs taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at NMACC.)