Upadhyay’s works use two media, photography and painting. Her works often portray the idea of ‘home’ as a sense of dislocation with domestic references, where people are violently displaced. The narrative content of her works speak strongly in an urban and thoughtful voice. She incorporates her self image along with photographs in her works, in order to bring distortions to the reading imagery, thereby interfering with what she wants to communicate. Upadhyay pulls in varied and often contradictory directions in her works, attempting to reflect the inner state of dislocation.
Drawing extensively from her own experience, Upadhyay crafted narratives from found materials to explore themes of gender, migration, socioeconomics, and urban development. “So much chaos in my work actually came from the city,” she explained. “When I work in my studio in Mumbai, there are lots of elements, of decay, of life, of chaos. It’s a double-edged condition when you see development in the making—you see growth but decay.” Born Hema Hirani in 1972 in Baroda, India, she earned both her BFA and MFA from the University of Baroda in 1995 and 1997, respectively. She went on to exhibit internationally, with solo shows at the MACRO museum in Rome, the Institute of Contemporary art in Brisbane, and the Gallery Nature Morte in New Dehli, among others.
See biography
Available works
Installations
Videos
Available works
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The Princesses’ Rusted Belt, 2011
Gouache acrylic paint, dry pastels, photographs on Arches paper
181,5 x 113,8 cm -
The Princesses’ Rusted Belt, 2011
Gouache acrylic paint, dry pastels, photographs on Arches paper
182,4 x 111,7 cm -
The Princesses’ Rusted Belt, 2011
Gouache acrylic paint, dry pastels, photographs on Arches paper
181,7 x 113,4 cm -
The Princesses’ Rusted Belt, 2011
Gouache acrylic paint, dry pastels, photographs on Arches paper
181,2 x 113 cm -
Killing Site I, 2008
Gouache, acrylic, dry pastel and photographic collage on paper with aluminum sheets, enamel paint, resin and marine plywood
183 x 122 x 91,5 cm -
Killing Site II, 2008
Gouache, acrylic, dry pastel and photographic collage on paper with aluminum sheets, enamel paint, resin and marine plywood
183 x 122 x 91,5 cm -
Killing Site III, 2008
Gouache, acrylic, dry pastel and photographic collage on paper with aluminum sheets, enamel paint, resin and marine plywood
183 x 122 x 91,5 cm -
Killing Site IV, 2008
Gouache, acrylic, dry pastel and photographic collage on paper with aluminum sheets, enamel paint, resin and marine plywood
183 x 122 x 91,5 cm -
THE PRINCESSES' RUSTED BELT #5, 2011
Clay, paper, wood
32 x 42 x 17,5 cm -
Untitled, 2011
Clay, paper, wood
34 x 42 x 22,5 cm -
THE PRINCESSES' RUSTED BELT #1,2011
Clay, paper, wood
34 x 42 x 17,5 cm -
Silent Shadows, 2015
Installation view
Iran Pavilion - 56th International Art Exhibition, Venice
Old wardrobe, handmade clay birds, wire, acrylic paints
214 x 130 x 47 cm
Installations
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TORN CURTAIN, 2024
Installation view
Studio la Città, Verona -
La Musée 2, 2020
Installation view
Studio la Città, Verona -
Un racconto in sei stanze, 2016
Installation view
Palazzo Barbò - Studio la Città -
Omaggio a Hema Upadhyay, Where the Bees Suck, There Suck I, 2016
Installation view
Studio la Città, Verona -
Silent Shadows, 2015
Installation view
Iran Pavilion - 56th International Art Exhibition, Venice
Old wardrobe, handmade clay birds, wire, acrylic paints
214 x 130 x 47 cm -
The Princesses’ Rusted Belt, 2011
Installation view
Studio la Città, Verona -
Hema Upadhyay, 2011
Installation view
Studio la Città, Verona -
Where the Bees Suck, There Suck I, 2011
Installation view
Helsinki Art Museum – The Tennis Palace, Helsinki -
Where the Bees Suck, There Suck I, 2009
Installation view
MACRO, Roma
