Untitled (Diptych) by Riya Chandwani

As Riya continues her burn works - where paper bears the marks of time, memory, and erasure, she turns to the words spoken at the time of Partition. In this series, Riya inscribes Jinnah’s 11 August 1947 speech onto the surface of his body, and Nehru’s Tryst with Destiny speech onto his own, each rendered in indigo blue, a colour deeply tied to both pain and resilience in our history.

Their faces are covered in gold leaf, a deliberate gesture to both sanctify and obscure. In doing so, the work asks the viewer to look not at the men, but at the promises they made. What was said then? What remains today?

These works do not offer answers, but hold space for the question:
Are we truly free in this independent nation?

The burnt edges, fragile surfaces, and lingering words speak of both hope and haunting - of a past that still smoulders within us.

This diptych was exhibited at Method in the group exhibition "The Parliament is Now in Session" (August 2025)