Immerse in a curated art experience in Mumbai this week while enjoying high tea

As we step into the Art House at NMACC we know this isnrsquot going to be a usual art day At ART meets TEA the afternoon begins with a guided walkthrough of Doug Aitkenrsquos Under The Sun by a team of experts This powerful sitespecific exhibition unfolds across three immersive floors The experience is profound mdash light sound film and sculpture pull us into a multisensory journey through time and perceptionFrom there we move into the NMACC Arts Cafeacute for an elevated high tea delicate sandwiches savoury canapeacutes madetoorder pizzas and indulgent desserts paired with premium teas and coffees nonalcoholic sparkling wine and beverages What stays is the flow of how art and flavour mirror each other how the experience invites pause reflection and indulgence in equal measureWalking with the artistWhen Doug Aitken walked Sunday midday through Under The Sun during the showrsquos opening in December he shared memories from his first visit to Mumbai in the mid1990s when he spent several weeks at Film City working on an artwork centred on Bollywood and the creation and circulation of images Returning nearly three decades later the city feels transformed yet familiar ldquoMumbai has changed a lot Itrsquos modernised in many ways but it still has its soul Itrsquos an incredible city mdash so dynamicrdquoDoug AitkenWhen he revisited Mumbai two years ago for NMACCrsquos opening he arrived without expectations but felt there was an incredible opportunity to create an exhibition that could be new different and specific to this culture Itrsquos very easy for artists to be insular as they make work that travels I wanted to take a different approach and create something that was truly sitespecific for the city the country the culturerdquoTravelling across India after that visit reshaped the exhibitionrsquos direction ldquoI became very inspired by different artists craftspeople and art communes That made me think we could create a narrative that is a story dealing with the past present and futurerdquo That structure now defines the exhibition ldquoWhen you enter the first floor is very analogue and organic with stone wood raw materials much of it created in collaboration with local artisansrdquoFor Aitken art itself resists boundaries ldquoThe definition of art is comprehensive limitless Any medium or collaboration can be a passport to create an adventure for the artist as much as the viewer What matters is impact If an artwork can transport you to a different realisation of the world you live in then itrsquos successful In essence art is compressed energy It has to interact with you or it failsrdquoGanges Installation view PicDhrupad ShuklaThat belief shaped the showrsquos immersive nature ldquoI wanted the exhibition to be tactile immersive something you can fall into Not static works but storiesrdquo The opportunity to do that he says is rare ldquoWe want to push limits make things that are new and adventurous Not every place allows that This is a very unique space The people here have become collaborators and friends Itrsquos an incredible teamrdquoThe second floor introduces New Era a video installation anchored by a modern myth ldquoIt follows American engineer Martin Cooper who invented the first handheld mobile in the 1970s and made the first wireless call in human history It reflects on universal questions of where we are where wersquore going and whether we want that future or not Is complete connectivity something we can escape In a world where phones are woven into daily life the piece resonates strongly making one reflect on the desire to connect and disconnect at the same timerdquoThat tension defines the present moment ldquoWe live in a liminal space between the organic natural world and a digital world that is almost a world of fiction We step back into the dusty streets and white noise of Mumbai and then disappear into a screen again This exhibition is very much about that new landscape and how wersquore coming to terms with itrdquoLightfall Other worlds PicBrian DoyleThe final chapter unfolds on the third floor ldquoItrsquos a completely immersive work made only of light and sound mdash no images but deeply psychological Itrsquos as if music were light The colours shift the light dances You donrsquot observe it mdash you fall into it subconsciouslyrdquo he addsLooking back on the process he describes it as intuitive rather than fixed ldquoI knew very quickly that the exhibition would unfold in three chapters But how it would take shape came slowly It was organic mdash a long dialogue with the foundation with artisans with materialsrdquo says Aitken That layering feels intentional at the showldquoYou physically move from floor to floor climbing through time stepping into different moments Thatrsquos what the architecture allows mdash a journey through past present and futurerdquo he signs offWhat ART meets TEA mdash a curated cultural experienceWhen February 6 4 PM to 6 PMWhere Level 1 Art House NMACC BKCTo Book wwwnmacccom