Parts and Things 2019

Salman Toor's painting presents us with a dense interior bathed in green, where figures intertwine amidst various objects. The arrangement of the bodies evokes the traditional "pietà" motif, where the Virgin Mary cradles the dead Christ, a symbol of mourning and compassion. However, Toor's rendition diverges significantly. The faces are obscured, and the figures blend into one another, challenging the clarity and emotional directness of the original theme. What we see is the fragmented nature of identity and memory, reflecting the anxieties of a world in constant flux. This motif of embrace, of holding and being held, has a long history. From ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings, we find this gesture repeated, each time with a slightly different inflection. In Toor's work, the embrace feels less about solace and more about a desperate attempt to hold onto something intangible. The cyclical nature of these symbols reveals the continuous human struggle to make sense of our fleeting existence, urging us to contemplate the emotional residues that linger beneath the surface of our modern lives.