Project 88 presents a solo of new works by artist Neha Choksi, entitled ‘don’t hold it in breathe out’.

The exhibit enlarges on the conflicting desires for processes of bodily absence and presence. There are performance and video pieces on view. The body of work also includes sculpture, prints and paintings. Her recent cycle of work uses ‘absence and abeyance’ - both in thematic and formal terms, to activate the curious ideas of solitariness and expiry - the living breathe of mortality - if you will.

Neha Choksi, born in the US, received her M.A. (Classics) from Columbia University, New
York. Her work has been showcased in New York, Los Angeles, Madrid, Sydney, Istanbul, Amsterdam, New Delhi, Mumbai and in the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale.

For “Petting Zoo / Minds to Lose’, she anesthetized herself along with four farm animals. The new show at Project 88 (April–June, 2009) continues with the theme. It will conclude with the ‘Iceboat’ project.

In the first part of the new show, the artist imagines a human affinity for ruined playthings. She does so by placing amongst blown out, human-scaled balloon casings the balloon likenesses of herself. An introductory note states: “For balloons, air is form, life, and the loss of air is death. There’s a fascination with and a positive acceptance of eventual expiry in the works.

Neha Choksi has explored the themes of disquieting albeit happy ruin in her series of bruised paintings, blind embossing as well as ceramic expressions of some balloon explosion scraps. The second part ‘Leaf Fall’ comprises a video plus a large painting of a moment drawn from the video.