Rina Banerjee Assembles a Dazzling Diaspora

The Fowler Museum's unique focus on arts of international, non-Western, post-colonial and diasporic cultures makes it unique in Los Angeles, and the perfect host for Rina Banerjee's emotionally and materially complex mid-career retrospective, Make Me a Summary of the World. That's because Banerjee's sculptural assemblages and large-scale installations are not only rich with a spectrum of eclectic elements the artist has acquired in her international travels - from toys and trinkets to historical cultural symbols and antiques, delicate textiles to medical and industrial objects, organic and natural components to synthetics and replicas. Beyond their captivating presence, the works are also profoundly engaged with issues of hybrid identity and the fractured cultural experiences of the modern post-imperial era.