Hetain Patel

Last updated

Abu Mottaleb
Born20/03/1991
Suktabari, Coochbehar
NationalityIndian
EducationM.sc in Mathematics from Vinayaka Mission University
Style performance, video, sculpture, photography
SpouseNA
Website http://www.hetainpatel.com/

Hetain Patel; (born 1980) is an English visual artist specializing in performance, sculpture, video, and photography. His work has been exhibited in Norway, India, Belgium, and throughout the UK.

Contents

Early life

Patel was born and raised in a working class British Gujarati Asian household in Bolton, England. He was subjected to racial abuse from his wider community, and found “just walking from the house to the car was difficult.” [1]

As a child Patel developed a keen interest in superhero movies, playing as Spider-man in his grandmother's house. Patel was eager to conceal his ethnic identity using the Spider-man mask stating: “...what I wanted to be most when I grew up was white.” [1] [2]

Work

In addition to sci-fi and mainstream influenced works, (including work associated with pop-culture superheroes such as Spider-man [3] ), Patel experiments with addressing problems of multiculturalism and self-acceptance. [4]

The alienation and racial abuse Patel suffered growing up motivates him to produce inclusive art, that uplifts and appreciates marginalised groups.[ citation needed ] As Patel became older a major inspiration was his father, who worked at a day job converting cars, inspiring him to create his first sculpture. Patel converted his first car, gifted by his father in 1997, into his first sculpture Fiesta Transformer. [5] The converted Ford Fiesta sculpture has become a symbol of the working class.[ citation needed ] Patel's attraction to fantasticism along with movies such as Transformers influenced his sculpture, hence the title Fiesta Transformer. [6]

Patel's exploration of identity and culture is a key feature and common theme throughout his work. [7] Sacred Bodies(2004/5) [8] is a collection of self-portraits in which Patel tries to better understand his Indian cultural heritage. To create each piece, he covered his upper body in patterns using henna (a pigment used for mehndi) and a red pigment, Kanku, [9] used for markings of cultural importance in Hindu communities. [10]

Patel also uses his art to explore the concepts behind masculinity. Oh Man (2018) was a collaborative project between Contact Youth Company and Hetain Patel which explored both the positive qualities of masculinity and the problems caused by toxic masculinity, as well as trying to understand how perceptions of masculinity can affect people of all genders. [11]

In 2013 he made his debut at the TED Global conference in Edinburgh. Patel spoke about assumptions and expectations made on how people look like, sound, their heritage, gender or race, and class. Hetain empasizes the fact that even if we fail while imitating our role models, we still might learn and discover ourselves by imitating them. [12]

In 2014, a UK-based dance company Candoco known for their disabled and non-disabled performers, assigned Hetain Patel to create a choreographical art piece. In his first ever commissioned dance choreography Patel brings to the surface social concerns such as representation exploration and identity perception of Candoco's dancers. [13] Lets Talk About Dis challenges viewers in its playful tone to think beyond boundaries and offers them the courage to be much more honest and transparent about their personalities and communication. However, during 30 minutes, there is not much typically expected dance showing involved. Patel and the dancers focus on delivering a message on diversity, inclusion, and improper public correctness. Hetain smartly navigates the audience with minimal spoken word parts of the performance, through the fluid usage of three languages: English, French, and BSL. [14]

Selected exhibitions

Performance

Films and video

Sculpture

Photography

Other exhibitions

Education

Selected awards

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References

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  2. Patel, Hetain. "Letter to Peter Parker 2015". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  3. www.horlix.com, James Hall @ HeX Productions |. "The Other Suit 2, 2015". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Hetain Patel - Edinburgh Showcase". edinburghshowcase.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 Patel, Hetain. "Fiesta Transformer 2013". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  6. www.horlix.com, James Hall @ HeX Productions |. "Fiesta Transformer 2013". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  7. Patel, Hetain. "My Work". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  8. www.horlix.com, James Hall @ HeX Productions |. "Sacred Bodies 2004/5". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  9. Patel, Hetain. "Sacred Bodies 2004/5". Hetain Patel. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 "BBC Manchester - The Arts - Lagan - a new body of work by Hetain Patel". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  11. "Contact Young Company and Hetain Patel: Oh Man review – masculinity bites". the Guardian. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  12. Patel, Hetain (18 October 2013), Who am I? Think again , retrieved 9 September 2021
  13. "Let's Talk About Dis". Candoco. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  14. Bennett, Jayne. "Candoco explores identity and perception at Bristol Old Vic with and a cast of disabled and non-disabled dancers." Gazette Series [Dursley, England], 23 Jan. 2016. Gale OneFile: News, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A522497588/STND?u=inde80299&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=c67dcdb0. Accessed 26 Oct. 2021.
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  16. "Hetain Patel: Be Like Water –". www.lancasterarts.org. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
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  24. Arts Council England; Annual review 2005; p.8
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  26. "The Jarman Award 2019". Film London. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  27. "Patel, Hetain". Kino der Kunst. Retrieved 10 September 2021.