Toiletpaper’s ‘Run As Slow As You Can’ exhibit debuts in India

22 July – October 22, 2023 |  Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Art House, Mumbai

‘Run As Slow As You Can’ by Toiletpaper, an immersive and unique visual art exhibition will be making its India debut at The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.

The exhibition showcases the work of the renowned Italian creative studio and image-based magazine Toiletpaper, founded by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari in 2010. This show is curated by Mafalda Millies and Roya Sachs of Triadic and marks Toiletpaper’s largest show to date and Cattelan and Ferrari’s debut in India.

The exhibition captivates immersive display of Cattelan and Ferrari’s ever-evolving, oversaturated, hyper-real universe, seamlessly blending commercial photography with a surrealist approach. Inspired by popular culture, the world of advertising, religious iconography and art history, Toiletpaper investigates the current phenomenon of hyper-consumption of images, all with a delicious dose of irony.

Divided into four chapters, the exhibition challenges our existence and engagement in an increasingly virtual world, where we are constantly bombarded with visual stimuli. The duo uses photography, design and architecture as tools to bring into question the homes we inhabit, the objects we own, and the people that surround us.

As the title suggests, the exhibition is both disorienting and seemingly nonsensical, an intentional nod to the themes that sit at the epicentre of Toiletpaper’s practice. In an overdosed contemporary society: how slowly can you run?

“As an institution dedicated to showcasing the best of India to the world and presenting the best of the world to India, we are thrilled to bring this fun and quirky show to our country for the very first time. The imagery-laden, surrealist and sensory universe of ‘Run As Slow As You Can’is both young and playful and pushes the boundaries of art as we know it. While fresh and innovative in its conceptual, often ironic approach, at the heart of this exhibit is the celebration of a curious, exploratory energy that is quintessentially Indian. I am certain that Toiletpaper’s largest show to date will strike a chord with the younger Indian audience and give them an all-new perspective of art that fuels imagination and creative energy,” says Isha Ambani.

As part of the Centre’s aim to make art accessible to all – especially aspiring artists – and consistent with the previous exhibition, entry to ‘Run As Slow As You Can’ will be free for art students, children below the age of 7, and senior citizens.