Nalini Malani's 'Of Woman Born' Collateral Event at 61st Venice Biennale
Nalini Malani's captivating installation, 'Of Woman Born,' is currently exhibited at Magazzini del Sale in Venice from May 9 to November 22, 2026, as part of the 61st Venice Biennale's collateral events. Curated by Roobina Karode, this artwork showcases 67 animations created from more than 30,000 hand-painted and digitally designed iPad drawings, displayed across nine video channels. It features a complex soundscape, including Neha Karode's interpretation of T.S. Eliot's 'The Hollow Men,' and draws inspiration from the Greek myth of Orestes and the Furies. Malani explores themes of violence, women's empowerment, and resilience, prominently featuring the Skipping Girl character. The installation is sourced from the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi.
Key facts
- Nalini Malani's 'Of Woman Born' is a collateral event of the 61st Venice Biennale.
- The exhibition runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026 at Magazzini del Sale in Venice.
- Curated by Roobina Karode, artistic director and chief curator of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.
- The work includes 67 animations from over 30,000 handpainted and digitally rendered iPad drawings.
- The installation uses nine video channels, each sequence lasting three to five minutes.
- Soundscape includes a rendition of T.S. Eliot's 'The Hollow Men' sung by Neha Karode.
- The work references the Greek myth of Orestes and the Furies.
- The Skipping Girl character has appeared in Malani's animations since the 1990s.
Entities
Artists
- Nalini Malani
- Roobina Karode
- Neha Karode
- Shreya Ajmani
- Suzette Bell-Roberts
- Koyo Kouoh
- Rosalyn D'Mello
- Amit Gupta
- Adrienne Rich
- Aeschylus
- T.S. Eliot
- Joseph Conrad
- Veena Das
Institutions
- Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
- Magazzini del Sale
- Venice Biennale
- Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA)
- Centre Pompidou
- ART AFRICA
- La Biennale di Venezia
- STIR
- Al Jazeera
- Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen
- India Foundation for the Arts
- HarperCollins India
- Juliet Art Magazine
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- New Delhi
- India
- Africa
- Asia
- Latin America
- Global South
- South Asia
- Magazzini del Sale
- Mumbai
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- West Bank
- Sudan
- Athens
- Greece
- Italian Alps
- Fondamenta delle Zattere
- Dorsoduro
- Karachi