The Silence of Growing Things

“The Silence of Growing Things” was an international residency program provided by Artcore, which took place in Bengaluru, India, in January 2024. It broadly dealt with post-colonial themes, botanical history, ecology, environment and landscapes as conceptual elements. The chosen artists for this opportunity were Freya Gabie and Arjuna Keshvani Ham.

Freya Gabie 

Freya studied sculpture at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art. She is a multi-disciplinary artist, with a focus on sculpture and drawing. She is interested in highlighting unnoticed narratives manifest within different scenarios, places and objects. Often working with the familiar or ordinary, her work considers what our material culture says about contemporary society. Small, playful interactions or conversations take place between the artist and the things around her; retelling them in new form to reveal unfamiliar characteristics, highlight different histories and create an altered material inheritance. She works between Bristol and London.

Arjuna Keshvani-Ham

Arjuna Keshvani-Ham (b. 1999) is a British-Canadian-Indian writer, filmmaker and video journalist. She received her BA in English and German at the University of Oxford (2021) and MA in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art (2023).

Arjuna’s work uses speculative nonfiction to address themes of erasure, neocolonial violence and the spatial politics of exile.

Arjuna’s films and installations have been exhibited internationally at festivals and exhibitions, including at the Tate Modern (London), Antimatter Media Art Festival (BC, Canada), VCAS (Vienna), Belvedere 21 (Vienna), SET film festival (London), Deluge Contemporary Art Space (Canada), Artcore Gallery (Derby), the Royal College of Art (London). In 2024 she was selected for an international residency with 1 Shanthi Road Gallery (Bengaluru) and Artcore Gallery (Derby). In 2022 Arjuna collaborated with EUROCLIO and the University of Oxford to produce a series of short documentaries and digital archive on the enduring legacies of the Atlantic slave trade in Portugal, which premiered at Whirled Cinema (London, 2022). Her writing has been featured in international publications such as Flaneur, the Pluralist and the Oxford Review of Books. She currently works as a Video Producer at Times Radio.

Arjuna was awarded the ASC free studio award for emerging artists in London (2024) and the DAAD scholarship (2022).

The Silence of Growing Things Exhibition: 3 May – 22 June 2024

“The Silence of Growing Things” exhibition was a significant highlight of the year, marking the successful conclusion of Artcore’s international residency, organised in collaboration with Suresh Jayaram’s 1 Shanthi Road in Bengaluru. Two London-based artists, Freya Gabie and Arjuna Keshvani-Ham, were selected for this residency which was based on Bengaluru’s colonial history as the “Garden City of India” and its famous botanical gardens.

Freya Gabie created intricate drawings and installations that explored the resilience and healing power of Lalbagh and Cubbon Park, two of Bengaluru’s historic botanical gardens. Arjuna Keshvani-Ham produced multimedia works that examined the city’s colonial past, revealing connections between its ecology and industrial heritage. The exhibition’s launch was a wonderful celebration, attracting a fantastic turnout from the Derby community. Both artists had an enriching experience in India and shared their learnings from the residency.

In a note to Zahir, Artcore’s Artistic Director, Freya shared

“The Artcore residency, The Silence of Growing Things, was an incredible, completely unforgettable experience. From the first moment, Juni and I were immersed in life at 1 Shanthi Road, hosted by the kind and generous font of knowledge that is Suresh Jayaram, alongside a welcoming community of studio artists. We were gathered into this warm, creative space, under a canopy of almond trees, in a magical cacophony of bird tweets and ongoing toots from passing rickshaws…

Thank you to all at Artcore for this incredible opportunity. Sanjana, Huw, Sandhya, Zahir, and Ruchita, I only have to close my eyes to begin to hear the birdsong and the rickshaws!”