Journeys Through Time and Memory: Inside Gulammohammed Sheikh’s 'Worlds Within Worlds'

City, journey and mapping have long defined Gulammohammed Sheikh’s artistic pursuit. The exhibition of the veteran artist’s oeuvre in Kochi—Of Worlds Within Worlds- as part of the Biennale, takes viewers through these recurring themes that structure his work and vision.

Tracing the evolution of his art across historical phases, the show foregrounds the impact of time and Sheikh’s sustained engagement with diverse art-historical traditions. At the Lalit Kala Akademi art gallery, time is not static but fluid, flowing across epochs and geographies. The exhibition thus embodies Sheikh’s artistic journey through history’s tumultuous moments, revealing a practice shaped by a deep understanding of historical traditions as well as a restless dialogue with the present.

Kahat Kabir

The exhibition underscores the different phases of Gulammohammed  Sheikh’s artistic life. In the 1970s, his works were marked by thematic and symbolic representations, with recurring motifs of trees, landscapes and the lived realities of cities. In later years, as society grew more fractured and violent, his art began to bear testimony to these turbulent times, absorbing the anxieties, conflicts and ruptures of the world around him.

Against the backdrop of communal violence that ravaged different parts of the country, Sheikh turned to the teachings of Kabir, incorporating them into his art as a powerful symbol of nonviolence. In 1996, he began the Kahat Kabir series, comprising three etchings, two oil paintings and fifteen gouaches. These works, like many others in his oeuvre, reflect Sheikh’s understanding of Kabir as a figure who transcends the boundaries of institutionalised religion—a concern that recurs in his practice at least until 2010.

People caught in the crossfire of political and social unrest

City for Sale, a painting created in the wake of communal violence in Baroda in the early 1980s, reflects the dynamic and complex relationship between identity, city life and memory. Rooted in a moment of intense social and political upheaval, the work’s imagery carries the stories of people caught in the crossfire of political and social unrest.

Decades later, The City Gandhi Left Behind, completed in 2016, extends this engagement with violence and its geographies. Integrating lived experiences of ordinary people into the urban landscape, the work revisits the city as a site of trauma and remembrance. The image of a burning rickshaw, in particular, becomes a stark encapsulation of rupture, loss and the persistence of violence within everyday life.

City for Sale and The City Gandhi Left Behind are together regarded as two of Gulammohammed Sheikh’s most potent works. Layered with evocations of messengers of nonviolence and peace—Gandhi, Saint Francis, and, above all, Kabir—these works create a charged visual field where history, ethics, and memory intersect. The deliberate juxtaposition of violence and hope, of chaos and calm, becomes especially resonant in the context of the Biennale’s engagement with lived histories and collective memory.

Cartography as a means of storytelling

Another major attraction is his mappa mudi series, which reimagines cartography as a means of storytelling and cultural dialogue. The mappa mundi is a recurrent motif in Sheikh’s works. In several paintings, he has used a combination of digital collage and painting to rework these medieval European imaginings of the world by incorporating elements drawn from India.  This work was inspired by Sheikh’s encounter with the Ebstorf Mappamundi during his time at the Royal College of Art. Sheikh populated his own mappa mundi with figures from across histories and geographies—Sufi dancers, saints, and characters like Majnun—creating a world shaped by pluralism and personal memory. The mappa mundi images confront a terrifying contradiction: world history has often unfolded through collisions of religious dogmas, yet it is these same violently competitive faiths that have produced some of the most exalted art. In these works, Sheikh re-energises symbols drawn from classical art, reworking them to map histories of conflict, coexistence and cultural exchange.

“Sheikh and his works present a world that is never singular; it carries multiple meanings, perspectives and lived truths. His practice invites us to experience this simultaneity—these many worlds existing within worlds. It was important to me that this multiplicity comes through for viewers, especially in the way Sheikh navigates between violence and hope, revealing an artist unafraid of difficult questions yet deeply rooted in humanity. His engagement with lived experience, personal memory and collective history resonates profoundly with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale’s exploration of lived histories and subaltern memory,” says Roobina Karode, Director and Chief Curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.

Sheikh’s deep engagement with storytelling and layered narratives is vividly reflected in his exploration of the kaavad. Inspired by traditional Rajasthani kaavad shrines, he reimagined the form to encapsulate historical, political and personal narratives. His Kaavads unfold in multiple layers, drawing from a vast repertoire of cultural references—from Kabir and Gandhi to global literary and religious figures.

Kaarawaan is a monumental work that reflects Sheikh’s fascination with the idea of the journey, both literal and metaphorical. This expansive composition brings together figures who have influenced his life, placing them within a boat that also carries entire cities, geographies and ecosystems.

The exhibition also incorporates archival material, including Sheikh’s poetry, writings, letters and early publications, such as magazines he collaborated on with Bhupen Khakhar. Together, these elements offer a deeper understanding of his intellectual and creative milieu.  As this exhibition reveals art for  Sheikh, is a means to “keep hope alive,” a sentiment that permeates his oeuvre and continues to inspire.