Hetain Patel

This new exhibition by Hetain Patel includes two film works: The Jump (2015) and a major new commission, Don’t Look At The Finger (2017), commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella with Manchester Art Gallery and QUAD. These works continue the artist’s recent fascination with staging archetypal Hollywood action scenes within domestic settings, employing the characteristic humour in all Patel’s work. Don’t Look At The Finger presents a wedding ceremony where bodies speak physically, where the protagonists seek human connection through ritual combat and signed languages. The Jump features Patel’s homemade replica Spider-Man costume and connects the widely recognised fantasy of action and superhero films with the domestic setting of his British Indian family home in Bolton, in the UK.

First impressions are often incorrect

Director of the Film and Video Umbrella, Steven Bode, writes about Don’t Look At The Finger.

Look at the hands: Discussion with Hetain Patel, Chirag Lukha and Louise Stern

Recorded at Manchester Art Gallery on 23 November 2017 to coincide with his solo exhibition, Hetain Patel joins two of his collaborators from ‘Don’t Look at the Finger’ – martial arts expert and choreographer Chirag Lukha, and writer, artist and sign language consultant Louise Stern. The panel discuss their interest and involvement in making the film and take questions from the audience.

Biography

Hetain Patel is a British born artist of Indian descent who grew up in Bolton and is now based in London. Patel makes photographs, videos, sculptures and live performances, usually for galleries and theatres. He is interested in connecting marginalised identities with the mainstream in an effort to destabilise notions of authenticity and promote personal freedom. With an autobiographical starting point he uses humour and the languages of popular culture and explores fantasy through a domestic lens.

Hetain Patel has exhibited at Tate Britain (2009), Serpentine Gallery (2014), Sadler’s Wells, London (2015), New Art Exchange, Nottingham (2012), Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai (2015), and Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2012). He is represented by Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai.

Image
Hetain Patel, The Jump (film still) 2015
Courtesy the artist