Some artists speak in a language all their own. For Singaporean Kumari Nahappan, that language begins with nature—seeds, fruits, and spices. A chilli or a cardamom pod, reimagined, becomes a vessel of migration, belonging, and memory that spans painting, sculpture, and installation.
After decades of exhibiting across the world—from the Venice and Singapore Biennales to galleries in Tokyo, Singapore, and China—Nahappan says her latest show, ‘Chromatic Currents’ at Pristine Contemporary, Delhi, feels like a homecoming. Her works have been made available to an Indian audience with the support from the Singapore Embassy in India.
“The showcase is both a reflection on my journey and a renewal of creative roots,” she says. “This homecoming completes a profound circle. These pieces have travelled across the world, absorbing diverse influences, and now it feels like the artworks have come back to speak in their native tongue.”
Born in Malaysia to parents of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala origin, Nahappan has spent most of her life in Singapore, where she is celebrated as one of Southeast Asia’s leading contemporary artists. Curated by John Tung, former curator at the Singapore Biennale and the National Museum of Singapore, ‘Chromatic Currents’ brings together some of Nahappan’s most defining works since the 1990s. Among them is ‘Dance of Surya’ (2004), three vermilion-hued canvases that travelled from Japan and Korea before arriving in Delhi. Across a plain yellow ground, Nahappan paints a single line of red—resembling sunrise or a sindoor mark—an ode to ancestry.
For Nahappan, colour is language. Red—especially scarlet—is her “connecting thread”, capable of expressing “passion and peace, love and reverence, creation and transformation”. In her works ‘Red Trail’ and ‘Drop’, she revisits this hue as both memory and metaphor. “Growing up, scarlet surrounded me: hibiscus flowers for our altar, garlands for deities, chillies strung for protection. Red is the colour of the bindi, of weddings, of Shakti—the divine feminine force of creation and protection,” she notes.
Sculpting Space
Before turning to fine art in her late thirties, Nahappan trained in interior design in London and taught in Malaysia for seven years. That foundation continues to shape how she thinks about form and experience. “Interior design taught me how people experience space. Viewers don’t just see the work—they move through it, engaging all the senses. Whether monumental or intimate, I consider the environment a collaborator,” she says.
After earning her fine art degrees in Singapore and Melbourne, Nahappan began painting full-time before expanding into sculpture, bronze casting, and mixed media. Today, her works inhabit public and private spaces across Asia—from ‘Saga’ at Singapore’s Changi Airport and ‘Pedas-Pedas’ at the National Museum of Singapore to large-scale installations in Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Chengdu.
Her sculptural language often emerges from nature’s simplest forms of seeds, spices, and fruits. At ‘Chromatic Currents’, smaller renditions of her saga seed, nutmeg, anise, and mace sculptures—trace the historic spice routes of South Asia, mirroring how her own art traverses borders while connecting to her childhood memories. “Growing up surrounded by the aromas and colours of spices, I saw how they travelled across cultures, carrying both specific meanings and universal resonance. Seeds carry memory while holding promise—reflecting the cyclical nature of existence central to my heritage,” says Nahappan.
Of chillies and chess
Among the works on display, ‘Moves on Spice’—a bronze chess table created especially for the Indian show—stands out. Each chess piece is modelled after peppers and chillies, recurring motifs in Nahappan’s work. Heavy, intricate, and playful, the installation bridges art and design while tying together two Indian legacies: chess, which originated in India, and spice, which connects India to Southeast Asia.
For Nahappan, the chilli embodies layered meaning—from its scarlet hue to its ritualistic symbolism. “As a child, I saw chillies strung at doorways for protection. Chilli represents vitality, energy, and transformation—humble yet powerful, capable of altering everything it touches. Like seeds and spices, it travelled across trade routes, adapting to new cultures. It continues to reappear in my work because it perfectly expresses the themes at the heart of my practice: exchange, metamorphosis, protection, and the celebration of life’s rhythm,” says Nahappan.
At 72, she continues to work prolifically, exploring what she calls “the infinite possibilities within red.” Her practice bridges ritual and contemporary expression, permanence and impermanence. “I’m interested in how art can transform ordinary gestures into rituals of connection and reflection. Each project becomes a new chapter in this ongoing journey and every exhibition is a milestone, never an endpoint—simply another turn in the spiral of growth and discovery.”
Over three decades later, Nahappan remains fascinated by monumental-scale installations where viewers become participants. “In public spaces, art becomes a shared language, connecting the everyday with the transcendent. Working at scale allows me to engage multiple senses—touch, scent, sound, and sight—transforming humble materials into something vast and resonant.”
On view at Pristine Contemporary, South Extension I, till October 30, 11 am onwards
