Ohida Khandakar

Mother’s Arms Are More Comfortable

Exhibition installation view at 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore — a panoramic watercolor drawing hangs on the left wall, three photo ink paintings on Canson paper are mounted in the center, and the kinetic installation on a white pedestal stands to the right against a black curtain. Next Step Residency Program, 2019.

Installation: photo ink on Canson paper (3 works, 12 × 8 inches each) and kinetic installation (DC motor, 3 RPM), 2019. Shown at Next Step Residency Program, 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore. Drawing on the Mater Dolorosa, the work represents the recurring trauma of everyday domestic violence.

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Khandakar Ohida

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Installation, 2019
Next Step Residency Program, 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore, India

This project portrays the profound impact of identity pressures on marginalised communities, offering a glimpse into the contextual reality of our society. Drawing inspiration from Western art’s representation of the Mater Dolorosa – Mother Mary cradling the lifeless body of Jesus – these artworks introduce the universal nature of everyday violence. Through this series, Ohida explores the inherent transparency of watercolour as a medium, which reveals incidental truths and invites introspection.

The kinetic installation operates as a metaphorical Panopticon, conveying the continuous propagation of oppression in our contemporary era , maintaining surveillance and perpetuating a sense of control. The rotating drum printed with figures enacts the endless repetition of violence.

Exhibition installation view at 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore — a panoramic watercolour drawing hangs on the left wall, three photo ink paintings on Canson paper are mounted in the centre, and the kinetic installation on a white pedestal stands to the right against a black curtain. Next Step Residency Program, 2019.
Exhibition view, 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore, 2019

Mother’s Arms Are More Comfortable

Photo ink on Canson paper, 12 × 8 inches each, 2019

Mother's Arms Are More Comfortable — watercolour figure study showing a faceless, hooded figure seated on a branch, body saturated in deep red washes evoking bruising and blood.
Mother's Arms Are More Comfortable — a second panel: a faceless seated figure in a white dress, limbs stained with red and crimson washes, surrounded by pink floral splashes.
Mother's Arms Are More Comfortable — a third panel: a faceless figure in a headscarf cradles a prone body, both forms marked by red watercolour stains. The composition echoes the Mater Dolorosa.

Kinetic Installation

DC electric motor, 3 RPM, Canson paper, OHP print, 2019.

Kinetic installation component — a cylindrical drum printed with figures in red rotates on a slender white pedestal against a black backdrop, driven by a DC electric motor at 3 RPM.

Panoramic Works

Panoramic watercolour and ink drawing — a narrative frieze depicting figures including a woman in traditional dress holding a flower, a praying figure, wrestlers, and a floating face in a headscarf, all rendered against loose rust-red washes. Watercolour on Canson paper, 2019.
Detail of watercolour wash used in the installation — an abstract horizontal expanse of red, crimson, and ochre blooms on paper, suggesting organic cellular forms or spreading bruises.

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