Three Spaces brings together a body of work by Mayank Singh Shyam (b. 1987, Bhopal), centered on three interconnected realms—paatal, dharti, aakash (the netherworld, earth, and sky). Moving between Bhopal and Patangarh, Mayank draws from memory, mythology, nature, and lived experience, bringing inherited stories and contemporary realities into a visual world of his own.
Mayank’s imagery carries elements of Jangarh Kalam without imitating the work of his father, the pioneering artist Jangarh Singh Shyam. Instead, he has developed a language of his own, initially turning his attention to urban landscapes and creating unexpected encounters between the urban and rural worlds. Cars move through forests, buses pass through landscapes, and animals and birds appear alongside the structures of contemporary life.
As his practice has evolved, the stories, myths, and cosmology of the Pardhan Gond tradition have moved increasingly to the centre of his artistic imagination. Trees, animals, birds, and other forms of life become vessels for stories, memories, and inherited knowledge. In Mayank’s paintings, the natural and the imagined continually intersect with the world around him.
For Three Spaces, Mayank presents a specially developed body of work that extends this exploration through natural materials. The Mitti series incorporates clay traditionally used in his community alongside natural pigments, including colours derived from leaves. Inspired by his father’s clay artworks, Mayank began experimenting with these materials in 2021, finding in the process a direct connection to his ancestry. At the heart of the exhibition is Nan-Jan Vriksh, a deeply personal work bringing together his parents, Jangarh and Nankusia. The exhibition is, in many ways, a tribute to their influence on Mayank’s artistic journey and to the family and community through which this legacy continues.
Three Spaces brings these strands of Mayank’s practice together, revealing an artist who draws deeply from his inheritance while continually finding new ways to see, remember, and imagine.
