'According to Freud, 'dreams of convenience' occur in order to resolve anxiety, substituting physical action with dream action, in order to fulfill repressed wishes or desires. In my experience, there is nothing convenient about these occurrences - they serve solely, to further un-resolve and compound waking anxiety.'
- Priyanka Dasgupta

Shrine Empire Gallery is pleased to present 'Dreams of In-convenience', our first solo exhibition by Indian-born, New York-based artist, Priyanka Dasgupta. This exhibition, comprised entirely of new work, is an immersive sound and video installation, including monitors, large projections and two large-scale, shadow puppet scenes, centered around a quasi-fictional character.

On entering the space, the viewer is transported into the realm of dreams, where reality steps back and shadows move forward, revealing hidden narratives.  A large video projection shows a bed being pummeled and destroyed by torrential rain.  The rhythmic, immersive sound of falling water pervades the entire installation.  In the center of the space, the viewer is confronted by the projected shadows of the protagonists of this narrative. The central, female figure, hangs suspended, broken, falling through space, simultaneously losing her heart and brain. She is the guardian of this realm, the shadowy, counter-ego of the artist, a visualization of her more primitive, guttural self. Facing her, in a separate shadowy scene, two male shadow puppets stand rigid, facing each other, one holding her heart, the other, her brain. They symbolize the perpetual split that pervades much of Priyanka's work, between that of desire and expectation, happiness and ambition, dreams and reality.

The final work in the installation is a large, saturated video projection of a woman in a red dress, and a tree.  As the video progresses, the woman unravels her dress, tying these bright red ribbons to the tree.  As the tree turns red, the woman gradually disappears.

Much of the imagery in this installation - water, trees and shadows - are familiar, reoccurring symbols in Priyanka's work. In this installation, they combine to visualize a more complex, multi-layered narrative that, in its structural circularity, ultimately evokes hope, even as it focuses on seemingly apocalyptic scenes.