Since moving to Switzerland in 2018, Ishita Chakraborty has deepened the scope of her work, dissolving geographical and conceptual borders from India to Brazil. Interviewed in her Swiss studio, she discusses her restrictive upbringing and how cooking transcends art. This summer, Ishita Chakraborty is perhaps the most famous person in Aarau, a city 50 kilometres west of Zurich. Her name features prominently on posters all over the city centre advertising her solo exhibition at the Aargauer Kunsthaus (Aargau Fine Arts Museum). The show comes on the heels of her winning a major award – the Manor Cultural Prize – consolidating her standing as a rising talent on the Swiss art scene. Chakraborty could now sit back and enjoy the recognition due to a career marked by much travel, experimentation with artistic and poetic forms, and hard work. But she is restless. We meet at her studio close to Aarau, just before she is to leave for research trips to London and Liverpool. She is excited but ...
