The washroom has always been a place to steal a few moments for yourself or seek respite from the outside world with a friend. And this washroom at Mumbai Urban Art Festival (MUAF) isn’t demarcated for any gender, but welcomes all, offering a place to pause, rest, relieve and refresh oneself without exclusion.

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Learn the act

Taking your time to closely observe interesting and tiny details on small or medium-sized artworks is fascinating. But there is something overwhelmingly moving about installations on a massive scale. So if you’re interested in the latter, the exhibitions at MUAF are a great place to start. Our first pick is illustrator and architect Aashti Miller’s Choropleth. This abstract mural surrounding the viewer is inspired by Mumbai’s geography and how it contributed to its maritime development. The work embraces the colour palette of the sea and takes the form of a choropleth map, offering you a chance to reflect on the relationship between the city and the sea.

Songs of the future

Shrine for my oceanic mother. Pic Courtesy/@chashmishkahiki

Rithika Pandey’s Shrine for my oceanic mother is a mixed-media installation that carries the idea of a post-human, post-apocalyptic and mythological world ushered in by catastrophic floods.

The ‘nuclear goddess’ rising from the sea and feminine characters displayed on the walls allude to regeneration, ancient relics and the possibilities of continued life. With mythological elements and symbolism, the work invites the viewer to confront our environmental crisis and unpredictable future.

Picture this

Naman Saraiya and Nikita Rana’s This is a photo dump

What space can offer the truest form of sanctity for uninterrupted thought than the washroom — whether seated in one corner or standing in another? MUAF has not missed this quiet refuge, which essentially seems like one of the best places to contemplate art, don’t you think?

Naman Saraiya and Nikita Rana’s This is a photo dump is a mixed-media installation with a collage of photographs, put together without much deliberation to encourage the rise of various interpretations ushered over time and associations. With a camera in everyone’s hands, the image has become a crucial form of communication, documentation and memory. Facing this piece and the sheer number of photographs in a collage might just help you reflect on the essence of the image and its increasing role in our lives.