Huma Bhabha

Coinciding with Berlin Art Week, BORCH Gallery & Editions present two print projects by Huma Bhabha in Berlin. In the series Leochicospeedy, Bhabha combined photogravure with etching techniques. The three portraits from The Unsubs are classic black-and-white etchings.

For Leochicospeedy, Huma Bhabha created a series of expressionistic portraits of deities or a race of gods executed in photogravure and etching. Although the works convey an almost nightmarish atmosphere, the underlying photos taken by the artist are of three playing dogs: Leo, Chico, and Speedy. The dogs belonged to the artist’s brother, who passed away in 2015, and to the artist, they represent his legacy. Huma Bhabha uses the image of the dog similarly to the way Joseph Beuys uses the coyote and the hare: as a mediator between humans and nature.

The title of her series of etchings The Unsubs is inspired by the TV-show Criminal Minds. Here, the artist depicts unknown subjects or entities from an imaginary world, consciously avoiding characterization: They are ambiguous; whether they are heroes or villains is open to the viewer’s interpretation.

Huma Bhabha is best known for assembling tactile materials like clay, wire, cork, and scraps of construction into dark, dense sculptures full of cultural references. Ever shifting between figuration and abstraction, they deal with what the artist describes as ‘eternal concerns’ found across all cultures: war, colonialism, and memories of home. In her works on paper, Bhabha creates atmospheric portraits, often blending animal and human features.

Press Release / Pressemitteilung