Exhibition: On Becoming A Travelling Altar

What does it mean to carry the sacred within us? To inherit something that cannot be held, yet finds its way into our gestures and the things we make?

The exhibition ‘On Becoming A Travelling Altar’ brings together works by November's artist of the month Mohini Kaur. In it, she proposes the body itself as the altar, where we remember those who came before and give way to forces larger than ourselves.

In line with OmVed Gardens' 2026 theme, Listening as Care, Kaur’s practice is an act of attentive listening: to the materials she works with, to the bodies and landscapes that hold memory, and to the rhythms of time. 

Alongside painting and sculpture, the exhibition includes ‘Kali’ (2026), a new soundscape co-produced with Gaya Tideman. Voiced by Kaur and shaped by her own interpretations of chants to Kali, the piece asks for a slow, bodily kind of listening, the kind that lets a visitor feel curious about something older than themselves.

You must book a ticket to view this exhibition. Please note that the exhibition is in the Barn only - the rest of the gardens may be closed for visitors. 

The show will be open to visitors on:

• Sunday 8 November, 11-3pm
   OmVed Open Day. Book Here

• Saturday 14 November, 11-1pm 
  Workshop: Making Through The Body. Book Here
  Slow down and make through the body in this guided session, combining body awareness and play. Taking cues from the garden and the ideas behind her exhibition, you’ll work together across a long shared roll of paper, and no experience is needed.

• Tuesday 17 November, 2-7pm 
  

  5:30 PM: Sound artist Somatic and sitarist Tommy Khosla reimagine the ‘Kali’ soundscape live among the works in The Barn. This 90-minute meditative listening session invites you to settle in and let the sound hold you.

• Wednesday 25 November, 12-6pm
  5PM: Curator Helen Zhang shares the thinking behind ‘On Becoming A Travelling Altar’, drawing on her ongoing work with the artist and the choices that shaped the show. 
  

• Friday 27 November, 12-7pm
  5:30 PM: Walk through the exhibition with Mohini Kaur as she opens up The Long Ancestral Body, the framework behind her practice, and how the works speak to one another.

About the Artist:

Mohini Kaur / Studio Mohini 

Mohini Kaur (b.1994, India/UK) is a London-based artist working across painting, installation, sculpture and photography. She makes work that stays with how transcendence is felt and resisted in the body, where sensation becomes a way of understanding inheritance and receiving knowledge.

Kaur works within a framework she calls ‘The Long Ancestral Body’, situating the self within an ecological and ancestral continuum that remains alive in the present. Here the female body works as method, carrying tension and renewal into the same unresolved present.

Kaur holds an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art and a BA in French and Philosophy from King's College London.

www.studiomohini.com @studio.mohini

About The Curator:

Zhang Hailun Helen is an independent curator working between the UK and China. She is Founder and Curator of SYMPHŌNIA and Director of Curatorial Strategy and International Programmes at Tinglan Art Museum, and has led the Kensington and Chelsea Art Week (KCAW) Fringe exhibition programme in London. She holds an MFA in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research explores Eastern philosophy in relation to contemporary art, translating this enquiry into cross-cultural exhibitions and public practice.

@ zhanghailun.curatorialartlife

Exhibition Collaborators:

Soundscape Co-Production: Gaya Tideman @gayatideman
Venue Sound Design & Listening Session: Somin @somin.somatic
Sitar, Listening Session: Tommy Khosla @tommykhosla

About OmVed Gardens: 

OmVed Gardens is a garden, exhibition, events, and learning space in North London dedicated to exploring the connections between food, ecology and creativity for health and climate resilience. We are on a mission to inspire ecological awareness and action, and deepen our understanding of interconnectedness with the natural world.

As a registered Community Interest Company, all our activities prioritise social and ecological objectives. Whether collaborating with chefs, creatives, gardeners, or schools, OmVed Gardens is a hub for education, connection, and action. We aim to inspire individuals and communities to reimagine their role in building a healthier, more resilient world.

We work to increase biodiversity - of species, seeds, food systems, and participation, through regenerative gardening, seed saving, habitat creation, and ecological education. Our space serves as a living example of how urban areas can be transformed into thriving ecosystems that support both human and non-human communities.

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www.omvedgardens.com · @omvedgardens

A note on accessibility: The gardens are set on a hill, featuring steep paths and may not be suitable for those with limited mobility. Wheelchair access across the site is currently limited while landscape works are underway. For events, there is drop-off access by car to the Barn main building. If you require wheelchair drop-off, please get in touch with us ahead of time. There is an accessible toilet located inside the Barn.