Arpita Shah
English Blue / Bombay (diptych) (from the series "Nalini"), 2015
C-Type print on Dibond
43.2 x 55.9 cms each
17 x 22 ins each
17 x 22 ins each
Series: Nalini
271831
Provenance
Arpita ShahExhibitions
9 February–7 April 2019: Nalini, Street Level
Photoworks, Glasgow.
12 October–16 November 2019: Nalini, An Lanntair, Stornoway, Isle of
Lewis, part of Purvai.
17 January–17 March 2020: Nalini, Impressions Gallery, Bradford.
6 October 2020–11 April 2021: Towner International, Towner Eastbourne (group
exhibition).
12 April–July 2024: Nalini, Duff House, Banff; Street Level Photoworks
with Historic Environment Scotland. Closing date differs between sources (14 or
21 July); exact date unconfirmed.
13 June–4 October 2026: Nalini, Firstsite, Colchester.
Publications
Illustrated: Nalini: Captions and additional words from Arpita Shah, Impressions Gallery, 2020, p. 17. Image components reproduced in Arpita Shah, Nalini, Art Journal 84, no. 1 (Spring 2025), pp. 7–21, and Art Journal Open. Exact print edition not specified. Image components reproduced in Arpita Shah / Frank McElhinney, Nalini, PIX: Passages. Publication dated 2021 in artist CV; online issue files dated 2022.
Spanning India, East Africa and the UK, Nalini explores the connected histories of Arpita Shah, her mother and her grandmother. Bringing contemporary portraits and still lifes together with family photographs...
Spanning India, East Africa and the UK, Nalini explores the connected histories of Arpita Shah, her mother and her grandmother. Bringing contemporary portraits and still lifes together with family photographs and heirloom objects, the series traces the effects of migration, distance and loss across generations. Shah’s search through family archives and visits to places connected with her maternal ancestors led to new discoveries about their lives and relationships. The title is her grandmother’s name and the Sanskrit word for lotus. Flowers recur as offerings to the women in her family: the lotus symbolises femininity, fertility and rebirth, while bougainvillea connects memories of India and East Africa. Photographs of bodies, possessions and places bring these family histories together.
This diptych pairs English Blue, a portrait of Nalini seen from behind in pale blue clothing with her grey hair braided, with Bombay, a photograph of a blue-grey sea and horizon. Frank McElhinney identifies the portrait as Nalini looking across Ahmedabad from her family apartment, and reads it in relation to her continuing longing for Nairobi after the family’s return to India. The shared blue tones connect the figure, the distant city and the sea.
This diptych pairs English Blue, a portrait of Nalini seen from behind in pale blue clothing with her grey hair braided, with Bombay, a photograph of a blue-grey sea and horizon. Frank McElhinney identifies the portrait as Nalini looking across Ahmedabad from her family apartment, and reads it in relation to her continuing longing for Nairobi after the family’s return to India. The shared blue tones connect the figure, the distant city and the sea.