Through dense woodcut prints, drawings and sculptural works, Kolkata-born artist Arpan Sadhukhan’s solo exhibition Death Is Nothing But Love reflects on the contradictions of contemporary life. Currently on view in Hyderabad, the exhibition explores how systems of consumption shape identity, relationships and the way individuals engage with the world around them.
Arpan Sadhukhan with his work at the exhibition
A meditation on love and ‘self-death’At the centre of the exhibition is a paradox suggested by its title, derived from the poem This Valley of Death Is No Country of Mine by Bengali writer Nabarun Bhattacharya. For the artist, that title captures the contradictions of living within systems increasingly shaped by market forces. “We are living in a time where we willingly participate in systems that slowly erase parts of our identity. In a way, that becomes a kind of ‘self-death’. Yet we participate in this process willingly — we even enjoy it. So in that sense, the ‘death’ I am referring to is something we are loving and embracing every day.”
A woodcut sculpture by Arpan Sadhukhan on display at the exhibtion in Hyderabad
Visualising the contradictions of the presentThe works in the exhibition are marked by dense compositions and layered imagery, often revealing multiple forms within a single frame. For Sadhukhan, this visual intensity mirrors the complexity of the subject he is exploring.“The subject I am working with is itself full of contradictions,” he says. “Even as an artist critiquing consumer culture, I am not outside of it.”Rather than presenting a single fixed image, many of the works unfold slowly as viewers spend time with them. “At first glance you might see one figure, but if you look closely there are many other forms emerging from within it,” he adds. “The time we are living in is complex and difficult to navigate, and through my work I am simply trying to express the turmoil of our time.”
A carved woodcut work by Arpan Sadhukhan on display at the exhibition in Hyderabad
