Print on dibond mirror 'A Mirror Ganesh' by Chila Kumari Burman, 2017, showing an abstract black and white pattern created from the head of Ganesh. The frame embellished with mirror pieces.

Ganesh is one of the best-known Hindu deities, whose head was surgically transplanted onto his human body. Elephants are of great cultural significance in India, and have long been the focus of state conservation and environmental policy.

One of 29 works produced by Burman as a commission to accompany the Science Museum’s ‘Illuminating India’ season in 2017-18. The display featured representations of all religions indigenous to India, with two including Ganesh. Five others feature elephants.

The works respond to objects and narratives in the history of science in India particularly to the exhibition ‘5000 Years of Science and Innovation’, as well as to the wider religious and cultural history of the sub-continent. This was Burman's first significant engagement with the history of science and medicine, with the works ranging across print, collage, photography and mixed-media, including experiments with iPad technology.