Unstill Life: Architecture of the Soul
Tucked away from the busy bylanes of the chaotic city of dreams, the Method Kala Ghoda is noted for its serene and halcyon artistic presentations that encourage visitors to slow down and engage with art in a more sensorily immersive way. This sui generis showcasing of art is pleased to unveil “Unstill Life,” a thought-provoking solo exhibition by the interdisciplinary artist Dheer Kaku. The exhibition is on view till February 15, 2026. This exhibition is a meditative construct that positions itself at the intersection of physical ruins and psychological unrest.
The artist, Dheer Kaku, is an alumnus of Rachana Sansad and a recipient of the INLAKS Fine Art Award. He manifests a deep visceral outlook on the canvas, metamorphosing the blank spaces into a warm, albeit fractured, map of human emotions. He represents the commotion of emotions that trembles, collapses, fragments, and yet persists. His canvases feature repeated obliteration, redrawn lines, and foliated facades, making the act of looking feel archaic. His art emphasizes the emotional labor of surviving within constricted, shared, and often eroding environments.
Spaces that Remember, Ruins that Breathe
Growing up with cramped personal space, the artist now finds solace in frequently neglected and overlooked corners. He chose terraces, narrow edges, and hidden gaps to express this sense of attachment. These marginal spaces become the safehouse of the metaphors expressed in his current corpus of art. For the artist, the city is a mirror, and thus, he has developed an intimate connection with the “architectural corners.” These neglected corners are places where others perceive urban neglect, but Dheer Kaku traces a peculiar “order.” In his narration, he describes these sharp shapes as tools to “bring order to inner confusion.”
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In segments like “Out of Context” and “Safeplace,” disjointed interiors suspend between collapse and survival. He recreates the urban demolition sites and exposes their vulnerability. Another artwork, Settler, transforms a single brick mounted on fragile wire legs into an anthropomorphic being. This figure appears like a displaced being that mirrors the living conditions in rapidly transforming cities. Meanwhile, Face of a Broken Home presents a ruin that forces the viewer to perceive how domestic spaces mold identity and memory. The artist’s “objects” are buildings, excavators, and crumbling walls that seem to breathe, decay, and struggle for stability. His works are characterized by a process of restraint.
Glimpses of The Exhibition
| Aspects | Details |
|---|---|
| Exhibition Title | Unstill Life |
| Artist | Dheer Kaku |
| Duration | On view until February 15, 2026 |
| Venue | Method Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai |
| Primary Mediums | Drawing, lens-based media, installation |
| Key Themes | Psychological architecture, urban decay, loss of shared space |
Key Highlights
- Reimagines the still-life genre through unstable, decaying architectural forms.
- Employs layered drawing techniques of erasure and redrawing to convey emotional sedimentation.
- Explores psychological interiors shaped by shared, diminishing urban spaces.
- Integrates archaeological and anthropological methodologies into contemporary visual language.
- Presents architecture as a metaphor for memory, grief, restraint, and endurance.
- Continues themes from Kaku’s ongoing series Casual Thoughts of Doom.
- The buildings portrayed are not literal structures but representations of internal mental states, exploring themes of endurance and tension.
- Kaku challenges traditional aesthetics by finding “softness” and meaning within fractured and damaged forms.
- The physical act of erasing and redrawing serves as a metaphor for the passage of time and the fading of memory.
- A subtle but powerful commentary on how neofascist movements and sensationalist media contribute to a sense of “impending doom” that manifests in our physical environment.
- Hosted by Method, the show aligns with the gallery’s “extrospective” approach, encouraging art that breaks away from predetermined outcomes.
From Public Squares to Fragile Interiors
A central thematic core of this exhibition is the Hermeneutic congruency depicted by the artist. He manifests spaces where communities once gathered are being replaced by smaller, more congested private cells. The interiors of these structures grapple to huddle together against the weight of the outside world. His ongoing series, “Casual Thoughts of Doom,” reflects on the ongoing era as an “archaeological spot.” Through this construct, the artist asks: What will remain of us?
The philosophical root traces back to Einstein’s idea of art as revolution and offers the ideal bedrock for this exhibition. The artist profoundly emphasizes experimentation, critical thinking, and artistic freedom, which resonates with the core of Unstill Life.By choosing restraint over spectacle, he invites the viewer to look closer at the “ruins” of their own lives. There is a profound empathy in his work; he doesn’t just show us a broken home, he shows us the face of it.
Takeaway
“Unstill Life” is an exhibition that bestows recognition on the tangibly intangible aspects of life. It taps into the ruptured emotional state of being that discloses the unfiltered realities of contemporary urban existence, where private spaces shrink, and psychological burdens grow heavier. It metamorphoses the debris and ruins of the city’s pockets into vectors of deeper meanings. The artist’s quotient does not aestheticize decay; rather, he humanizes it. His drawings remind us that even in broken architectures, both material and emotional resilience search for softness, belonging, and meaning. In a city like Mumbai, perpetually in flux, Unstill Life feels less like an exhibition and more like an introspective pause we urgently need. This exhibition is a must-visit for anyone who has ever felt “out of context” in their own city and is looking for a way to map their way back to a “safe place.”
