Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran: Carriers of Us

Internationally acclaimed artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran has been commissioned by Powerhouse to create a series of 4 life-sized sculptures responding to themes from S. Shakthidharan’s Gather Up Your World In One Long Breath. Installed in the rooftop garden at Powerhouse Parramatta, Nithiyendran’s Carriers of Us sculptures will be on display throughout the year-long project, as animated forms that oversee the publication, performances and community workshops.

Carriers of Us draws on Nithiyendran’s deep reflection, research and engagement with contemporary forms of Tamil idolatry and Tamil sculptural traditions from South India and Sri Lanka, where clay, bronze, water and ritual continually shape one another.

The works explore ideas of identity, transformation and cultural memory. Cast in bronze and designed with interchangeable elements, each Carrier figure embraces fluidity and change, while their weathered surfaces allow nature and time to become active collaborators in the artwork.

Carriers of Us continues Nithiyendran’s exploration of the vessel, a powerful symbol within Tamil material culture. An object for carrying water, offerings and food, the vessel becomes a metaphor for the transmission of stories, rituals and collective knowledge across generations, communities and geographies.

During 7–8 November, this installation is free with an opening weekend general admission ticket. The allocation of free general admission tickets has been exhausted – but you can still guarantee entry by booking a ticket to Task Eternal or another Opening Festival program.