Krishna Reddy’s Demonstration sculptures emerged amidst the fervent atmosphere of Paris in 1968, a year resonating with cultural, social, and political upheavals across the Western world. Amidst the backdrop of widespread civic unrest and government crackdowns in France, Reddy’s sculptures captured the essence of solidarity and frustration that permeated the streets of Paris and beyond.

Having grown up in British India, Reddy had witnessed the movements preceding India’s Independence. His time in Paris during the 1950s and ‘60s exposed him to France’s reckoning with its colonial past and the Algerian War.
While his best-known works depict abstract motifs inspired by nature, Reddy’s early work depicted refugees and Bengal famine victims as emaciated, elongated figures, akin to what we see in this sculpture.

With Demonstrator, he encapsulates the tumultuous events of 1968 and the resilience of the populace, a lone figure underscoring the significance of the individual amidst the collective struggle.

Reference
Jennifer Farrell, Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints; and Navina Najat Haidar, Curator, Department of Islamic Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2017