This writer remembers looking at a replica of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian’s Composition in Red Blue and Yellow, wondering what it was about the simple and colourful blocks that were so arresting. A first look at Jayesh Sachdev’s solo show, Utopian Dystopia hosted by Tao Art Gallery and Galerie Geek Art, has a similar resonance. An artist, entrepreneur and designer, Sachdev’s interest in technology and AR (Alternate Reality) promises to transform this show from a visual to a more immersive experience.

“There are several artistic and cultural influences amalgamated in my thought processes,” says the artist. Having studied at LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore, and lived in Europe, he admits that these diverse influences show up in his work. “We travel geographically, but we tend to return to the same point. As an artist, I believe that everything is connected, and all possibilities exist in the cosmos,” he explains. The exhibition captures these multiple elements to create an arresting ‘utopian dystopia’ as he puts it. “It is the storytelling of this interconnectedness; how you witness a surreal world of contemporary imagery that coexists on a plane. That’s how I see all of us — in parallel worlds; so different and yet so connected,” he points out.