Nature Morte, New Delhi, presents Poetry None the Less Science, a solo exhibition by Deshna Shah, on view until May 2, 2026. The show marks Shah’s debut with the gallery and unfolds at its Vasant Vihar space.
Shah presents a new series of paintings that turn the canvas into a thinking surface. She visualises how her mind collects, breaks, and rebuilds information. Fragments from books, conversations, and daily life converge and clash within each frame. The artist transforms her neurodivergent experience into method. She calls ADHD “an extreme collector” and dyslexia “an extreme reorganiser.” Her canvases reveal this process through layered textures and coded narratives.
The title comes from The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra. Shah continues Capra’s dialogue between science and philosophy while drawing on Jain cosmology and ideas of cyclical time. Viewers encounter grids, arrows, and game-like forms, distorted chessboards, maze pathways, and reworked Gyan Chaupar boards. They act as maps of learning and belief, showing how progress and setback intertwine.
A key feature of the show is Shah’s Twilight Language, a cryptographic script she invented. Formed from English letters and shaped by her multilingual upbringing, it runs across her canvases like coded threads. The script hides and reveals meaning, exploring how language shifts between clarity and concealment.
Through symbols, diagrams, and spatial shifts, Shah links ancient thought to modern science. She invites viewers to think about perception, time, and belief as interconnected systems.
Cover Image: Deshna Shah | Interruption | 2025
All images courtesy of Nature Morte
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