Chila Kumari Singh Burman (b. 1957, Liverpool, UK) is known for her radical feminist
practice, her joyful neon light installations and her use of kaleidoscopic colours.
Exploring the experiences and aesthetics of Asian femininity and female empowerment,
and drawing on pop culture, her work has consistently strived to challenge assumptions
and stereotypes, and to champion equality. Burman’s work has helped to redefine
British identity through art. Born in Liverpool to Punjabi Hindu parents, Burman’s
working-class upbringing deeply informs her practice, blending traditional motifs from
Bollywood and Hindu imagery with modern aesthetics. This unique fusion speaks to
themes of race, gender, identity, and cultural heritage, resonating with diverse
audiences and generations of multicultural communities in Britain and across the
world.
A key figure in the Black British Art movement of the 1980s, Burman has collaborated
with luminaries of the movement such as Lubaina Himid and Sonia Boyce, using her art
to highlight the lived experiences of ethnic minorities. Her multidisciplinary works –
spanning printmaking, painting, installation, neon sculpture, and film - have been
exhibited extensively in solo and group shows, nationally and internationally.
With a practice devoted to challenging stereotypes and placing alternative perspectives
of Britishness at the forefront of art history, her works reach global audiences. Burman’s
works and film pieces are represented in museums and notable public institutions such
as the British Council, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery, BFI,
Wellcome Collection, Science Museum, Government Art Collection and Tate. Through
this exposure, she has been able to engage with new generations and
societies, connecting with younger generations and emerging artists in the early stages
of their practices.
Burman attended Southport College of Art, Leeds Polytechnic (BA First class, Fine Art
Printmaking), and Slade School of Fine Art, (MA,1982). A passionate advocate for
education and emerging artists, Burman has taught at institutions such as Lahore
College of Art and delivered successful, widely attended talks across the UK. Recently,
she led a workshop on the children’s television programme CBeebies. Burman is a
longstanding trustee on the board of Rich Mix, a charity celebrating the diversity of
London through a program of contemporary culture and has gifted her time and works
to raise funds for a number of other charities.
Burman recently featured in Sky Arts' documentary special Statues Redressed, which
followed several artists in a unique project reimagining Liverpool's most iconic statues.
She has also completed several notable commission pieces for brands including
Netflix's White Tiger campaign and Byredo's new fragrance Mumbai Noise.
In 2017, Burman was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and Honorary Fellowship from
the University of Arts, London, for her outstanding contribution to the arts.
In 2020, she was selected for the Tate Winter Commission, her resulting installation
remembering a brave new world installation, celebrated her Hindu Punjabi upbringing,
embellished Tate Britain’s façade and proving hugely popular during a year blighted by
the COVID-19 pandemic. Bernadine Evaristo, writing in The Guardian, described it as “a
dazzling, unparalleled display of radical subversion, colour and energy.”
In 2022, Burman was awarded an MBE in 2022 for her contributions to visual art.
Recent neon installations include Do you see words in rainbows?, Covent Garden,
London; Liverpool love of my life, Liverpool Town Hall, Liverpool; Blackpool light of my
life, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool; and There is No Darkness in the Garden of Light for
Art after Dark, Leicester Square Gardens.
In 2024, Tate published Chila Burman, a comprehensive survey of her practice and
Compton Verney presented Spectacular Diversions, a solo show of recent collages,
body prints, prints, photo etchings, sculptures and neon sculptures. Neon Dreams was
presented at The Holburne Museum, Bath.
Burman’s major Chila welcomes you tapestry commission for the Imperial War
Museum North will be on display from February – August 2025 and Perth Museum will
be commissioning an installation of Burman’s neon works for the early part of the year.
A major retrospective is planned by Tate Liverpool in late 2026.