Chila Kumari Burman MBE was born in Bootle and raised within the Punjabi Hindu culture of her parents amidst a backdrop of working class Liverpudlians. Her father, Bachan Singh Burman, was a tailor and magician in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. He came to Britain in 1954 and was later followed by China’s mother, Kamala Devi and her two older siblings. Once settled in Britain the growing family welcomed Chila and two more children.
Chilaʼs experiences growing up in Sefton are key influences on her work. She has many fond memories of her father operating his ice-cream van on Freshfield beach and proudly recalls the striking life size Bengal Tiger that sat on top of his van. Within this exhibition you can see that the ice-cream van and its wares have become popular and familiar motifs in her work. Her mother opened a clothes shop in Waterloo, which further cemented the family’s place at the centre of their community.
After attending local grammar schools in Bootle and Waterloo, Chila achieved a foundation course at Southport School of Arts and Crafts which led to an art degree in printmaking at Leeds Polytechnic and masterʼs degree in fine art at the Slade art school in London. She has built a distinguished career that addresses themes such as cultural heritage, feminism and activism. As a key member of the Black British Art Movement Chila has constantly challenged stereotypes, fixed notions of British identity and institutional racism within her art. Chilaʼs work is collected and shown internationally, and her contributions to visual art were recognised when she was awarded an MBE in 2022.
Within this exhibition you can see some of Chilaʼs most recent work, showcasing new ideas as well as revisiting and reworking recurring motifs that she continues to elaborate and interrogate within her creative process. Chila uses a range of artistic approaches including printmaking, painting, photography, drawing, collage and sculpture to explore the relationship between popular culture and fine art.
Photo Credit: Dave Jones