Practice

Memory is understood not as an act of recall, but as the underlying structure of existence within the practice of Nandita Mukherjee. At its most elemental level, everything is considered to be constituted through memory. The human body is approached as a site of accumulation, carrying evolutionary, genetic, and emotional imprints while remaining in continuous exchange with the Earth. Within this continuum, the notion of a fixed, independent self begins to dissolve.

This inquiry extends beyond personal experience to consider how memories continue to shape human existence. The inherited layers of embodied memory influence the way we think, feel, and act, leaving traces that often remain unseen. Through material experimentation and mark-making, the work seeks to make these invisible layers tangible.

Working across drawing, painting, ink, and material experimentation, Mukherjee investigates how memory inhabits form. Her works emerge as layered fields where time, gesture, and residue converge. Each mark is treated not as representation, but as response—an accumulation of interactions, both visible and unseen.

Within her practice, memory is approached as both embodied and material. It is not confined to the mind, but understood to be embedded within the body and inscribed onto objects. Surfaces that have been touched, used, and eroded over time become active carriers of history, retaining traces that persist beyond their original context.