Pors & Rao (Aparna Rao and Søren Pors) is an Indo-Danish art duo based in Bangalore, India. They work with objects and installations, often incorporating elements of lifelike movement and responsive behaviors.
Many of their works are conceived as a kind of 'being' that lives in the exhibition space, exhibiting various behaviors such as shyness, fatigue, and dependency. Often, works imply a kind of pre-conceptual way of perceiving the world, where emotions and thoughts are animating the things around us — as if everything was conscious.
After toiling with computer simulations, the internet, and game design in the early 2000s, they both abandoned the screen to work with objects and environments that engage the body. They crossed paths in Italy in 2002 and started collaborating as a duo in Bangalore, India, in 2004.
Exhibitions include Visions From India, Pizzuti Collection, 2017, The Setouchi Triennale, Japan, 2016, the 2nd Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Whorled Explorations, India, 2014/15; METAMATIC Reloaded, Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland, 2013; 21 Rooms, Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul, South Korea, 2011; Pors & Rao, CAB – Centro De Arte Contemporaneo, Burgos, Spain, 2011; Indian Highway, The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. Oslo, Norway, 2009, and the 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan, 2009.
Rao: NID, National Institute of Design, India. IDII - Interaction Design Institute, Ivrea, Italy
Pors: Kunsthåndværkerskolen, Denmark. Utrecht School of The Arts, The Netherlands; IDII, Italy.
Solo Exhibitions
2018. Discoveries Section, Art Basel, Hong Kong.
2013. Pors & Rao – Hilger Contemporary, Hilger Next, Vienna, Austria.
2012. Applied Fiction (Reworked) – Gallery SKE, Bangalore, India.
2011. Applied Fiction – CAB-Centro De Arte Contemporaneo, De Caja De Burgos, Burgos, Spain. Curated by Emilio Navarro Menduiña. (Catalogue; text by Peppino Ortoleva).
2011. Applied Fiction – Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India.
Group Exhibitions
2019. Charged, MOCA Virginia, US
2017. Visions From India, Columbus, US Pizzuti Collection
2016. Setouchi Triennale, Shodoshima, Japan
Curated by Noboru Tsubaki
2014. Whorled Explorations – Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India
Curated by Jitish Kallat.
2013. METAMATIC Reloaded – Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland
Curated by Andres Pardey, All Arts Initiative. (Calatogue)
2013. We Are Ours - a collection of manifestos for the instant, KHOJ, New Delhi, India. Curated by Himali Singh Soin
2011. 21 Rooms – NJP Summer Festival – Nam June Paik Art Center, Soul, South Korea. Curated by Jeong-hwa Goo. (Catalogue)
2011. Roots In The Air, Branches Below – San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, USA. Curated by Kristen Evangelista and Susan Krane.
2009. 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennle – Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. Fukuoka, Japan. Curated by Raiji Kuroda. (Catalogue; text by Raiji Kuroda and Igarashi Rina)
2009. Indian Highway – The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. Oslo, Norway. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton Jones and Gunnar Kvaran. (Catalogue)
2009. Expanded Box – ARCO. Madrid, Spain. Curated by Domenico Quaranta.
2007. Unmaking Objects – Vadehra Art Gallery. New Delhi, India. Curated by Vidya Shivadas.
2006. Pop Noir – The Israel Museum, Israel. Curated by Alex Ward. (Catalogue)
2004. BITE – Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. Torino, Italy.
2015. ART BASEL, Highlights From Basel 2015 - Youtube.com
2015. PRŌTOCOLLUM art journal - Dickersbach Kunstverlag, Berlin
2014. Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014, Whorled Explorations, (Short Guide)
2014. "Metamatic Reloaded”, “Interview With Pors & Rao", (Exhibition Catalogue), Museum Tinguely
2014. Shruti Kapur Malhotra, “Interview With Pors & Rao”, Platform Magazine
2013. Gerhard Mack, “Kunstler Lieben Jean Tinguely”, ART Das Kunstmagazin
2013. Annette Mahro, “Wir Haben Nur Einige Regeln Gesetz”, Badische Zeitung
2013. Anne Katrin Fessle, “Kopfstand Unter Balken”, Der Standard, Austria
2012. Sarah Meuleman, “Sarah’s Barbaren: Aparna Rao en Søren Pors”, VPRO
2011. Javier Gutiérrez, “Pors & Rao, Applied Fiction”, e-FLUX
2011. "Applied Fiction", (Exhibition Catalogue), CAB -Centro De Arte Contemporaneo
2011. Himali Singh Soin, "Deus ex Machina..", Review, Take On Art, India
2010. Peppino Ortoleva, "Applied Life, Fictional Environments" (Exhibition Catalogue)
2009. Indian Highway, (Exhibition Catalog), Astrup Fearnley Museet For Moderne Kunst
2009. The 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (Exhibition Catalog), Fukuoka Asian Art Museum
2015. Pygmies, Changi Airport, Singapore (2015-16).
2011. Nisse TV, All Arts Initiative, Métamatic Research, Amsterdam, Holland. Jury: Denise René, Alanna Heiss, Jitish Kallat, Julia Robinson, Roland Wetzel and Sarah Wilson
2015. Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015. Gebert Rüf Stiftung. Basel, Switzerland
2014. Creative India Foundation, Hyderabad, India
2014. Radhika Chopra & Rajan Anandan, Delhi, India
2014. The Shuttleworth Foundation. Durbanville, South Africa
2012. Artphilein Foundation, Lugano, Switzerland
2017. Bhavna Kakar, Verve, DISCOVER THE CHANGING FACE OF ART IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY
2016. Interview w. Natalie Angles, RU, New York
2016. Why you need to visit the Setouchi Triennale this summer, Vogue, Suhair Khan, April 27, 2016
2015. ART BASEL, Highlights From Basel 2015 - Youtube.com
2015. Safia Dickersbach, PRŌTOCOLLUM art journal - Dickersbach
Kunstverlag, Berlin
2015. Tausif Noor, A walk through the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014, Art Radar Journal
2014. Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014, Whorled Explorations, (Short Guide)
2014. "Metamatic Reloaded”, “Interview With Pors & Rao", (Exhibition Catalogue), Museum Tinguely
2014. Deepa Bhasthi, "Pursuit of Precision", Feature, Open Magazine, India
2014. Shruti Kapur Malhotra, “Interview With Pors & Rao”, Platform Magazine, India
2013. Gerhard Mack, “Kunstler Lieben Jean Tinguely”, ART Das Kunstmagazin, Germany
2013. Annette Mahro, “Wir Haben Nur Einige Regeln Gesetz”, Badische Zeitung, Germany
2013. Anne Katrin Fessle, “Kopfstand Unter Balken”, Der Standard, Austria
2012. Sarah Meuleman, “Sarah’s Barbaren: Aparna Rao en Søren Pors” (40 min), VPRO TV, Holland
2011. NJP Summer Festival, 21 Rooms, (Exhibition Catalog), Nam June Paik Art Center
2011. Javier Gutiérrez, “Pors & Rao, Applied Fiction”, e-FLUX
2011"Applied Fiction", (Exhibition Catalogue), CAB -Centro De Arte Contemporaneo
2011. Himali Singh Soin, "Deus ex Machina..", Review, Take On Art, India
2011. Johny ML, “Applied Fiction: Fiction Applied- A Must See Show”, ‘By All Means Necessary’ (blog)
2011. DHNS, “It’s a Toy Story”, Deccan Herald, India
2010. Peppino Ortoleva, "Applied Life, Fictional Environments" (Exhibition Catalogue)
2009. Indian Highway, (Exhibition Catalog), Astrup Fearnley Museet For Moderne Kunst