Using this resource

This resource can be used for individual study and reflection or as a reference for teachers developing lesson plans. 

It introduces the artist's work and offers discussion points and activities that can be used together or as individual components to integrate into your own scheme of work.

Who is Chila Kumari Singh Burman?

Materials and techniques

Key themes

Artworks in focus

Art & Design activity suggestions

Who is Chila Kumari Singh Burman?

Chila Kumari Singh Burman was born in 1957 in Liverpool. Her parents moved to the UK from Punjab in Northern India in the mid-1950s. Her family history and Indian heritage are an important inspiration for Burman.

Burman studied printmaking at Leeds Polytechnic and the Slade School of Art in London. Since the 1980s she has worked across a range of media including printmaking, painting, drawing, sculpture, video and installation.

Chila with her 2020 installation 'Remembering a Brave New World' at Tate Britain

Chila with her 2020 installation 'Remembering a Brave New World' at Tate Britain

She has described her art as 'fun, playful, cheeky, magical journeys that are happy and delightful'. But she also addresses important themes in her work. A significant figure in the Black British Art movement of the 1980s along with artists such as Sonia Boyce, Claudette Johnson and Eddie Chambers,  Burman helped bring issues relating to racism, colonialism, and gender and cultural representation to the attention of the contemporary art world and wider society.

Materials and techniques

'I use collage to open up possibilities. I create images, turn them into prints and then add metallic acrylic paint, fluorescent poster paints, felt tip pens, glitter, crayons, spray paint and pastels'.

Burman trained as a printmaker. While still a student she experimented with techniques, often combining different media and processes within the same print to create richly layered images.

Red Riots on Indian Paper

Red Riots on Indian Paper (Riot Series) 1981

Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Tate

This early experimentation and willingness to push traditional techniques in printmaking led her to make vibrant and layered mixed-media artworks that combine a range of materials. (The term 'mixed media' is used to describe art that is made using more than one medium or material.) She often uses non-traditional materials and is drawn to sparkly, shiny materials such as glitter, jewellery, and fluorescent and metallic paint which she describes as her 'junk treasures'.

More recently Burman has created large installations using neon lights. In 2020 she covered the façade of Tate Britain with lights that outlined personal motifs relating to her family history and identity, figures from Hindu religion and mythology, and text slogans.

Remembering a Brave New World

Remembering a Brave New World

2020, installation by Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957) at Tate Britain

Key themes

Everyday inspiration – 'Asian Pop artist'

'High art meets popular culture – I think that's essentially what I'm interested in.'

Burman's use of everyday objects such as glitter and jewellery, as well as imagery from popular culture, has led to her being described as an 'Asian Pop artist'.

Spoon Painting

Spoon Painting

2021, artwork by Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

'Popular culture' refers to the ideas, images and culture that people interact with every day, often through mass media. Fashion, TV, mainstream films and pop music are all examples of popular culture. Pop art was an art movement that developed in the 1950s and 1960s when artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Pauline Boty started to use imagery from popular culture. Posters, comic books and advertising graphics all found their way into Pop artists' work.

Autobiography (imagery and colour)

Remembering a Brave New World

Remembering a Brave New World

2020, installation by Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957) at Tate Britain

Much of the imagery we see in Burman's work is inspired by memories from her childhood.

Ice cream

When her family moved to the UK in the 1950s, her father, who was a tailor by trade, had difficulty finding employment. He bought an ice cream van and built a successful business selling ice creams. Ice cream and ice cream vans feature as a motif in many of Burman's artworks.

Eat Me Now (2013) is a giant sculpture of ice cream in a cone. It is decorated with glitter, bindis, peacock feathers and figures from Hindu mythology and religion. As well as being a fun, vibrant sculpture, the sculpture pays homage to her father and the family's survival when they first moved to England. It becomes a powerful symbol reflecting Burman's identity.

Cornet – Eat Me Now

Cornet – Eat Me Now

2012, sculpture by Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Tigers

Her father's ice cream van had a tiger on top of it and Burman has also adopted the tiger as a symbol reflecting her personal history (as well as her Indian heritage – the tiger is the national animal of India). A tiger appears in her 2020 neon light installation at Tate Britain, Remembering a Brave New World, as well as in many of her other artworks.

Chila with her tiger artwork

Chila with her tiger artwork

Colour

Burman credits her childhood and her Indian heritage as inspiring her use of vibrant colour. Her father's van and the local Hindu temple were full of colour. She has also suggested that the 'OTT colour' of Bollywood films, enjoyed by her family every Sunday, is also embedded in her approach to colour.

Cultural identity

Burman describes herself as a Punjabi Liverpudlian. Her work references both her Indian cultural heritage and the Western culture she grew up in. As a child, she went regularly to the temple with her family and watched Bollywood films, but she also went dancing every Saturday evening in the local Irish pub.

'I'd go home [from school] and get out of my uniform, speak in Punjabi and enter an Indian world. When I'd step out on the streets to play, it was again an English world. So school was very English, and home was very Indian.'

A trip to India before she went to art college brought her Indian heritage to the forefront, and imagery and symbols from Indian culture became an important part of her work. However, she doesn't see herself as exploring her Indian heritage but sees this heritage as integral to who she is and how she works.

The trip also politicised her, making her more aware of India's history and Britain's role as a colonial power. For her light installation at Tate Britain, she included figures relating to the proud history and mythology of India to counter, as she explained, 'the awful things the British did in India'. Indian goddesses such as Lakshmi and feminist icon Lakshmi Bai/Jhansi Ki Rani, who once ruled the princely state of Jhansi, are incorporated into the installation. The statue of Britannia, which stands at the top of the neoclassical façade of the gallery, is covered with the powerful and threatening Hindu goddess Kali.

Remembering a Brave New World

Remembering a Brave New World

2020, installation by Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957) at Tate Britain

Gender and representation

Burman was a feminist from a young age, (she had a poster of the Black American feminist and political activist Angela Davis on her wall as a teenager). Her interest in women's rights and the representation of women developed while she was at art college.

Chila as a student at Leeds Polytechnic in 1979

Chila as a student at Leeds Polytechnic in 1979

While at college she set up the first Asian women's refuge. She also joined a women's collective which produced a magazine called Mukti for South and East Asian women. Mukti helped to shape the development of black feminist theory. It focused on the interconnected nature of gender, race and class oppression.

She has described her work as having a 'feminine quality' but one that is dynamic. Jewellery, false eyelashes, makeup and bindis have all featured in her art. (Bindis are coloured dots or stickers worn in the centre of the forehead in the Hindu, Sikh and Jain religions and traditionally signify married women.)

'I'm reworking girly things ... I'm taking the mickey out of the way women are supposed to be wearing these things so I'm reappropriating it and mashing it up.'

Chila with bindis

Chila with bindis

Self-portraits and subverting stereotypes

Burman uses self-portraiture to address the problematic representation of women, especially, South Asian women and their histories. She often wears bindis in self-portraits, placed randomly over her face and body, or tightly packed to cover areas of skin, both decorating and drawing attention to her body. Using bindis in this way she challenges conventional stereotypes of South Asian women and presents herself as a confident, sexual and sexualised woman. The bindis also become a form of armour. In a video from 2020 called Armour, she sticks bindis on her arm so closely together they give the impression of colourful armour plating.

'I never use them like you're meant to. It's like an innate thing where I do the things that are the opposite. I hardly ever wear bindis where you are supposed to. I would say I use them in my work slightly subversively.'

Artwork in focus: 'Auto-Portrait'

Auto-Portrait is a self-portrait. Chila Kumari Singh Burman, wearing a hat, looks out of the portrait with her face resting on her hands. Rays of light radiate from the top of her head. The portrait is made up of smaller images repeated multiple times. Although the smaller images disrupt the portrait, Burman's eyes remain clear and look steadily out, directly engaging the viewer. The surface of the portrait is decorated with plastic sticky gemstones. 

Auto-Portrait

Auto-Portrait 1992

Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Wolverhampton Arts and Heritage

Analyse, reflect on or discuss

Use the questions below to analyse and reflect on the artwork. Then find out more in the 'About the artwork' section below.

First impressions …

  • What are your first impressions of Auto-Portrait? It may help to think of words to describe it.
  • Does the style of the artwork remind you of anything?
  • What is the mood of the portrait? What does it make you think and feel?

Look closer at the artwork …

  • Describe Burman's pose and expression. How does she come across in the portrait?
  • What are the figures in the tiny images wearing? Who do you think they represent?
  • What else has she added to the portrait?

Media and techniques …

  • What media and techniques has Burman used to create the artwork?

Message and meaning …

  • What do you think is the message or meaning of the artwork?
  • How do its themes fit in with what you know about Burman's work?
  • Do you think the portrait is a powerful statement of self-identity?

Artwork in focus: 'If There is No Struggle There is No Progress'

Burman made If There is No Struggle There is No Progress in 1981 while she was a student at Slade School of Art in London. It is from her Riot Series of prints developed in response to unrest that erupted across the country as a reaction against the policies of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government.

Analyse, reflect on or discuss

Use the questions below to analyse and reflect on the artwork. Then find out more in the 'About the artwork' section below.

First impressions …

  • What are your first impressions of If There is No Struggle There is No Progress? It may help to think of words to describe it.
  • What is the mood of the artwork? What does it make you think and feel?

Look closer at the artwork …

  • What can you see in the artwork?
  • Does the imagery and technique remind you of anything?
  • What does the text say and what do you think it refers to?

Message and meaning …

  • What do you think the artwork is about and how does this fit in with what you know about Burman?
  • How do the imagery and texts within the artwork reflect Burman's message?
  • Do you think the print makes a powerful and convincing statement?

Media and techniques …

  • What techniques do you think Chila Kumari Singh Burman used to create the artwork?
  • What colours has she used, and why do you think she chose these colours?
  • Describe how the artist has used mark-making. What is the impact of this?

Artwork in focus: 'Parvati – Hindu Princess'

This mixed-media collage was one of 29 artworks made by Chila Kumari Singh Burman for the Science Museum as part of a commission for its Illuminating India season in 2017–2018.

It shows the Hindu goddess Parvati, who sometimes manifests as Saraswati, goddess of learning (including wisdom and science) reflecting the nature of the Museum's focus.

Parvati – Hindu Goddess

Parvati – Hindu Goddess 2017

Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Science Museum

See details of Parvati – Hindu Goddess and other artworks from the commission in this video made by the Science Museum.

Analyse, reflect on or discuss

Use the questions below to analyse and reflect on the artwork. Then find out more in the 'About the artwork' section below.

First impressions ...

  • What are your first impressions of Parvati – Hindu Goddess? It may help to think of words to describe it.
  • Does the style of the artwork remind you of anything?
  • What is the mood of the artwork? What does it make you think and feel?

Look closer at the artwork …

  • Who is represented in the artwork?
  • Describe her pose and what she is doing.
  • What is in the background?
  • What else can you see?

Media and techniques …

  • What techniques has Chila Kumari Singh Burman used to create the artwork?
  • How has she used found objects?
  • How has she used visual elements such as composition and colour

Message and meaning …

  • What do you think is the message or meaning of the artwork?
  • How do its themes fit in with what you know about Burman's work?

Art and design activity suggestions

Multi-faceted you

With Auto-Portrait, Chila Kumari Singh Burman created a self-portrait that puts across different aspects of her character and 'self'. It also challenges viewers to reflect on their preconceptions about who she is.

Auto-Portrait

Auto-Portrait 1992

Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Wolverhampton Arts and Heritage

Create a self-portrait that encompasses the different aspects of your identity. It could reflect your cultural background, where you live, your interests, your moods, the music you like – everything that makes you who you are.

  • How would you express the different facets of who you are in a self-portrait?

First thoughts

It might help to start by making a mind map for your self-portrait. Write your name in the centre of a piece of paper. Surround your name with words or notes relating to the different aspects of your identity.

Media and techniques

  • Like Burman, you could choose to create a mosaic-like digital artwork that includes different images of you.
  • You could make a short video or reel that reflects different aspects of your identity.
  • Or develop a collage or mixed media self-portrait, layering images and mark-making. You could even include your mind map in your artwork!

Use your portrait to challenge perceptions. How do you feel people see you? What preconceptions might they have about you? How can you challenge them and their preconceptions in your portrait?

Further inspiration

Take a look at the photographs of artist Joy Gregory whose work engages with issues relating to self-identity, Blackness and femininity.

From the Series 'Autoportrait'

From the Series 'Autoportrait' 1989–1990

Joy Gregory (b.1959)

Autograph

Rotimi Fani-Kayode fused African and European cultures in his portraits to explore race, spirituality, sexuality and the self.

Untitled (Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil)

Untitled (Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil) 1985

Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955–1989)

Autograph

Objects that speak

Starting points

Burman has adopted various objects from her history as personal symbols to reflect who she is.

For example, ice cream and ice cream vans have become iconic and powerful symbols of her early life and her family's history. They represent the struggle her family first experienced when they arrived in the UK and pay homage to her father.

Cornet – Eat Me Now

Cornet – Eat Me Now

2012, sculpture by Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Bindis are used by Burman to reflect her Indian Hindu heritage. She often uses them in an unexpected and subversive way to upturn people's preconceptions about South Asian women.

  • Are there any objects that you feel you could use to represent you? These might relate to your family's history, your culture or the things that you feel are important.

Artwork ideas

Make the object into an iconic motif using Pop art as inspiration. Pop artists made everyday objects into iconic images that reflected contemporary society. Use bold shapes and colours. Use photo editing tools to simplify an image of your object and change the colours to make your object more vibrant or more personal.

Or consider making your object into a sculpture inspired by Burman's sculpture Eat Me Now. Explore other artists who have drawn on everyday objects from their history or culture and made them into iconic symbols.

Pop artist Claes Oldenburg's NYC Pretzel (x3) uses the humble pretzel to represent New York where he lived.

NYC Pretzel (x 3)

NYC Pretzel (x 3) 1994

Claes Oldenburg (1929–2022)

The Maclaurin Trust

Veronica Ryan's sculpture Custard Apple (Annonaceae), Bread Fruit (Moraceae) and Sousrsop (Annonaceae) is inspired by fruit that can be found in markets in the East End of London. She uses these to symbolise and celebrate her Caribbean heritage and the Windrush Generation who arrived in the UK after the Second World War to help rebuild the country.

Use your voice: art and activism

Make a mixed media artwork that expresses your thoughts and feelings about an event or issue.

Red Riots on Indian Paper

Red Riots on Indian Paper (Riot Series) 1981

Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b.1957)

Tate

What do you feel strongly about? How can you use art to put your message across and get your voice heard?

Media and technique suggestions

  • Collect images relating to your chosen theme. You could also gather news stories or social media posts.
  • Combine techniques such as mono-printing or relief printing with collaged photographs and news posts.
  • Layer imagery and mark-making. Add painted or drawn marks to your collaged or printed surface.
  • Think about the colours you use and how they can add impact to your message
  • You could incorporate text into your artwork to create hard-hitting slogans or directly express your thoughts and feelings.

Find inspiration

Explore more artworks on Art UK that address important themes and issues or reflect the artist's response to powerful events that have impacted them.


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