Posted on 31 August 2025:
Phantom of the Real — Sasikumar Kathiroor’s Provocative New Exhibition at Space Art Gallery, Kannur, Kerala
From 15th to 25th September 2025, Space Art Gallery in Kannur, Kerala, unveils Phantom of the Real, a compelling solo exhibition featuring the novel works of Sasikumar Kathiroor.
Known for his introspective visual language and shadow-laced compositions, Sasikumar invites viewers into a realm where perception and illusion collide.
The inauguration, set for 4 PM on 15th September, marks the beginning of a ten-day journey through layered realities and evocative forms.
With a palette that leans into the enigmatic and a gaze that questions the boundaries of truth, “Phantom of the Real” promises to be a landmark moment in contemporary Indian art. Presented by Space Art Gallery—a rising hub for avant-garde expression—the show offers a rare glimpse into the artist’s evolving dialogue with the unseen and the unspoken.
The Turned Object and the Echo of the Unknown
Renowned artist Sasikumar Kathiroor reflects, “Phantom of the Real is a response to the unknown. This statement entails some thought and poses a tail question—‘isn’t it?’ That question seeks an answer, and that answer should be either ‘yes’ or ‘no’; though it runs past the yes or no and demands the meaning or the stand of the unknown.”
In this layered inquiry, Sasikumar invites us to confront the invisible histories embedded in everyday matters.
The unknown, he suggests, is not a void but a lived realm—an accumulation of experiences that shape the very essence of an object.
In his latest exhibition, the subject is a cloth: once a humble gunny or cotton fiber, born of cellulose, passed through countless hands, machines and geographies. It is this exhausted, transformed material—imbued with memory, movement and use—that becomes the “turned object,” the central figure of his art. Through this poetic metamorphosis, Sasikumar’s work challenges us to see the familiar anew, and to ask not just what is unknown, but why it matters.
Reimagining the Residue — Sasikumar Kathiroor on the Memory of Matter
“In Phantom of the Real,” shares Sasikumar Kathiroor, “I recapitulate the visual by rereading the memory of the object—illuminated by a lightning drawn from the depository of dead forms it once carried, knowingly or unknowingly. Each fragment, each crease, holds echoes of lives lived and shapes shed. I hone these remnants with imagination and a creative sense, allowing the object to transcend its materiality.”
“Sasikumar’s work is not mere transformation—it is resurrection. ‘In Phantom of the Real’, he retrieves the silent memory of discarded forms and breathes into them a new, meticulous life. What was once a humble scrap of cloth becomes a vessel of lived histories, imagined realms, and spectral truths. This is not just an act of creation—it is an act of acknowledgement. The object becomes the subject, and its unknown lived realms, its silent transformations, are finally given voice.” — Ashokan, novelist and art enthusiast, Kannur.
