CHILA KUMARI BURMAN

Watermans brings together a specially selected range of work by the renowned artist, Chila Kumari Burman. Chila was raised by her Punjabi parents who emigrated to the Bootle district of Liverpool in the 1950s. She first emerged onto the Black Arts scene in Britain in the mid-1980s. Her work is often political and plays with multiple identities, teasing the viewer with rhythmic repetitions or variations on a theme. In the mid-90s she became fascinated with the bra as a pure form and a badge of feminine identity. She also started creating pieces from old family photographs, layering images to explore memories of her childhood and her parents.

By using memorabilia from her past, Chila's work suggests that identity is complex, and a collection of gender and culture related perspectives. By working with multiple identities, the influences on Chila's art are apparent - old Hindi movies and Hindu mythology, pop art and a range of print-making techniques. A first-class graduate from Leeds and a post-graduate in Fine Art Printmaking from the Slade School of Fine Art in the 1980s, Chila's work has been described as 'bringing an Asian, working-class feminist approach to a still exclusive art establishment'.