Nandan Ghiya is a self-taught visual artist & academic based in Jaipur.
2025 Biennial Year Find out more
Hailing from a family of studio photographers, Ghiya incorporates found vintage photographs and wooden frames to reflect upon shifts in image, identity & space in the 21st century environment with digital elements as the leitmotif. His recent sculptural directions are based on mythological allegories, commenting on the changing urban landscape & its impact, both on heritage and climate.
Nandan’s works have been exhibited at The Sculpture Park at Madhvendra Palace, curated by Peter Nagy, Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur (2024), Ellipsis: Between Word & Image, curated by Rahaab Allana, in collaboration with the City Palace Museum & JKK, Jaipur (2019), “Re Present: Photography from South Asia”, curated by Adrienne Fast at Kamloops Art Gallery, Canada (2018) & “POSTDATE: Photography and Inherited History in India” Curated by Jodi Throckmorton, San Jose Museum of Art, and Ulrich Museum of Art, Kansas (2015) & Facebook AIR program (2017). He has had Solo Exhibitions in New Delhi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Hamburg & Paris.
Liverpool Biennial 2025
'Manthan (Hindi, noun, lit. Churning; syn.: Introspection)', 2025
Hailing from a family of studio photographers in Jaipur, Nandan Ghiya appropriates and deconstructs found vintage photographs and wooden frames, combining them with digital motifs such as pixels and glitches to reflect upon shifts in image, identity and space over time. The artist is interested in the impact of the digital revolution and globalisation, including the increasing interconnectedness between economies, societies and cultures worldwide, especially on indigenous identities and heritage spaces.
This large new sculptural work, co-commissioned with Public Arts Trust India, interprets the Samudra Manthana – a major episode in Hinduism that translates to ‘churning of the ocean’ in Sanskrit. The story is one of victory of ‘good’ over ‘evil’, in which two eternally warring
Hailing from a family of studio photographers in Jaipur, Nandan Ghiya appropriates and deconstructs found vintage photographs and wooden frames, combining them with digital motifs such as pixels and glitches to reflect upon shifts in image, identity and space over time. The artist is interested in the impact of the digital revolution and globalisation, including the increasing interconnectedness between economies, societies and cultures worldwide, especially on indigenous identities and heritage spaces. This large new sculptural work, co-commissioned with Public Arts Trust India, interprets the Samudra Manthana – a major episode in Hinduism that translates to ‘churning of the ocean’ in Sanskrit. The story is one of victory of ‘good’ over ‘evil’, in which two eternally warring sides of celestial beings or Gods attempt to unearth the elixir of immortality from the primordial ocean in their ceaseless conflict for power and control. Drawing inspiration from the textiles and patterns of historic buildings in both Liverpool and Jaipur, the work reinterprets this ancient tale to explore themes of ocean mining, exploitation of natural resources, rising water levels and racial conflicts. It includes motifs such as the thousand headed snake Vasuki, who, as legend has it, became the churning rope which rotated the Mandara – the mountain of gold depicted here by the tower – in order to churn the ocean. Both the mountain and snake represent our natural resources with the snake, a living being, reduced to an inanimate object. Surrounding the sculpture on the walls of the gallery are previous works and studies from Ghiya’s expansive practice which illustrate his interest in found photographs. The artist is an avid collector of early and mid-twentieth century studio photography, collecting from flea markets and other sources examples of dark room photography that connects back to his family’s own studio. Courtesy of the artist. Co-commissioned by Liverpool Biennial and Public Arts Trust of India, Jaipur Art Week. Showing at Open Eye Gallery
'Manthan (Hindi, noun, lit. Churning; syn.: Introspection)', 2025
Showing at Open Eye Gallery
Tuesday–Sunday 10:00am–5:00pm-
Nandan Ghiya, Manthan (Hindi, noun, lit. Churning; syn._ Introspection) 2025. Liverpool Biennial 2025 at Open Eye Gallery. Photography by Mark McNulty.
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Nandan Ghiya, Matsya with the Ark & Varaha as Labourer, Installation View, Varaha after Battle (detail), 2017-23. Courtesy of Nature Morte. Photography by Anubhav Syal -
Nandan Ghiya, Photographic Studies for Post-deluge Cityscapes, 2024. Courtesy of the Artist. -
Nandan Ghiya, Virtually Extinct 4, Courtesy of the Artist.
