Mother

Not mine.  Mary may have been depressed, but she wasn't a paranoid schizophrenic like Sohrab Hura's, who has a multimedia show, his first in the United States, at MoMA PS1.  

Hura, born in West Bengal (the part governed by India), is best known for his photography. This series (2013-19), also published as a book, is called "The Coast."

I'm guessing he manipulates his photos, although I can't be sure.  What's up with that man's head?  Is he hiding behind the woman in red or is it just a cut-out of his face?

Some of the shots give me a Diane-Arbus-in-color-vibe, although the curators have indicated that partition and colonialism are among Hura's primary themes.  Foreigners may find these difficult to parse, but still find much to admire in his arresting work, as I did.

He shot a video (also called "The Coast") in Tamil Nadu during the Dasara festival which celebrates Kali, the Hindu goddess of time and death.  The festival encourages self-expression, with participants dressing up however they like, regardless of gender or caste, and ritually cleansing themselves afterward in the Bay of Bengal.  Hura scored it, too.  I saw ritual cleansing in the Ganges when I visited Varanasi a decade ago.  Hopefully this water was less polluted.

The drawings on these walls comprise a work he calls "Things Felt But Not Quite Expressed" (2022-24).  "Timelines (Delhi, Mother, Sheila, The Bus, The School, The Olive Tree, Bees, Protest, and Mail)" occupies the center of the gallery.

"Summer trip with A"

"Guest"

"The Green Dress"

Other images in the show emphasize the solitary.  They definitely struck a chord, although before I knew Hura's gender, I would have guessed he was a she.

"Far from the madding crowd"

"Everyone in school was in love with her"

"Last Night"