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Through the doors of the Syracuse University Art Museum is a massive, pink replica of the Taj Mahal. While this rosy reproduction serves aesthetic purposes, it is also one of many features at the museum that encourages viewers to learn about different cultures, said Romita Ray, an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the History of Architecture department.

“The museum is a fabulous laboratory for all of us,” Ray said.

With this interpretation, it is fitting that at SU’s Art Museum, Rina Banerjee, a polymer scientist and artist, is showcasing her exhibition, “Take Me to the Palace of Love” this semester. Her installations explore themes of identity, home and diasporic communities. Banerjee’s exhibition showcases three art installations: “Take me, take me, take me… to the Palace of Love,” “A World’s Lost,” and “Viola, from New Orleans…”

This exhibition has been in the works for some time, Ray said. She and Banerjee have known each other since the late 1990s and began talking about bringing this exhibition to fruition a few years ago.

The exhibition features floating installations made up of different materials and textures such as string, stones and shells. “A World’s Lost” showcases pink, purple and orange-colored powder dyes to simulate a river, acknowledging the effects of climate change. “Viola, from New Orleans…” combines different textures using sheer fabric, wood and metal as mediums to create an abstract representation of an interracial marriage. And “Take me, take me, take me… to the Palace of Love” is the namesake of the exhibition — the pink plastic wrapped replica of the iconic Taj Mahal floats in the air, touching the ceiling with its impressive height.

One of the main focuses of the exhibit is to showcase the artist’s heritage alongside folk art. Ray said the exhibit is known to be one of the most definitive collections of folk art from the Mithila region of India. Folk art from this area is predominantly created by women, which offers a strong representation of female artists for viewers to see, Ray said.

“We’re very lucky to have a substantial collection,” Ray said. “We’re talking hundreds of drawings made by these folk artists from this particular area.”

According to the exhibit, the inspiration for the title is derived from the Taj Mahal in India which not only represents love, but a sense of loss and identity — all concepts in which Banerjee takes into account when recreating the monument with vibrant pink plastic wrap.

“This was a way to bring the Taj to campus in its own watered-down fashion” Ray said. “Also to make us think about migration, and how we migrate with ideas, images and monuments.”

Participants in Holohan’s workshop stand in front of ‘Take Me to the Palace of Love.’ Isabella Flores | Contributing Writer

For visitors to engage with these ideas further, Kate Holohan, curator of education and academic outreach, put together a teaching workshop to draw connections between the exhibition, museum and academic community.

Holohan also offers workshops to give faculty members an orientation into the exhibition. She always tries to include a hands-on component into these workshops to offer participants a chance to do something with their hands, she said.

“We spend a lot of time thinking about serious things, but a big part of life is joy and fun. So I always want to try to incorporate that into these types of workshops as well,” Holohan said. “(These workshops) bring together people from all different departments and schools across the university.”

With “Take Me To the Palace of Love,” participants in the workshops have the opportunity to create their interpretations of the exhibition with materials used in and inspired by the installations, such as pink plastic wrap, styrofoam and red push pins.

Ankush Arora, a graduate student of art history, was present at one of the workshops and helped curate the exhibition. Arora said that this process was a great opportunity, as it gave him the ability to engage with a deep collection of folk art from India.

“A lot of the themes that you see in the paintings are very relevant today and speak to the themes you see in Rina’s work — light, love, depiction of gods and goddesses, how women assert themselves,” Arora said.

Ray said these themes can be experienced through more than just seeing the art. The importance of bringing people together and creating interactions are highlighted in this exhibition, she said.

“Making art together, rediscovering who we are as humans and conversation is very important,” Ray said. “That’s what we’re trying to create in all the galleries. These works of art are meant to create conversation more than anything else.”

Published on January 29, 2023 at 9:47 pm