Nikhil Chopra, b. 1974 in Kolkata
Lives and works in Goa.
After a stint at the Faculty of Fine Arts at MS University in Baroda, Nikhil Chopra moved to the USA to continue his studies. His artistic practice ranges between live art, theatre, painting, photography, sculpture and installations.
He has had solo exhibitions in 2003 and 2009 in the US, and has had shows in Chicago, Warsaw, Oslo, Brussels, Venice, Manchester, Paris, Guangzhou, and Mumbai.
Chopra speaks about how operating outside a studio, in live settings is central to his work. His performance consists of modifying the environment around him, usually with large drawings that envelop the audience and himself, but also mainly involve transforming himself, becoming different personas, allowing questions of identity to be posed. Since it is not just the who of the self, but also the where that Chopra is interested in, he thinks Kochi with its friction between the local and colonial is an intriguing space.