Sayan Chanda, Who Dwells Within Trees (detail), 2025, vintage quilt, cotton, 285x120cm. Photo credit: Mike Bolam, Cample Line. Courtesy of the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary.
De La Warr Pavilion is delighted to announce a major new commission by Kolkata-born artist Sayan Chanda titled How Many Fires, How Many Suns, How Many Dawns?.
Sayan Chanda reimagines votive objects, folk divinities, and mythic narratives as hybrid, ambiguous forms through the lens of identity and postcolonial theory. Working intuitively with fibre and clay through weaving, stitching, quilting, dyeing and hand-building, he creates spaces where stories, figures and rituals exist untethered from place, culture or period. His practice often turns to female and subaltern deities whose presence endures through communal rituals that have survived in domestic settings or been obscured by patriarchal retellings.
At the centre of the exhibition is Bonbibi, the forest goddess of the Sundarbans, reimagined as a figure that belongs to no single community or faith. Traditionally worshipped by both Muslim and Hindu communities as a protector, she has in recent times been reshaped to fit orthodox Hindu practices. Chanda presents her as a syncretic figure, unbound by rigid definitions. She appears as an expanse of vintage Kantha quilts, hand-stitched by women in their homes from materials drawn from daily life. For Chanda, Kantha is an archive of women’s labour, shaped by necessity, memory and quiet resistance. Through it, Bonbibi becomes a figure of both protection and resilience, rooted in the everyday gestures of care.
Two figures will stand beside Bonbibi, represented in the form of woven and stitched textiles, and will act as both guardians and warnings. Interacting with these works, a still body of water will reflect the environment and reveal glimpses of the deities, holding both calm and a sense of potential change. Scattered across the space will be small ceramic animals and sculptural forms that recall the roots of mangrove trees. Their metallic surfaces will shift between clarity and ambiguity, and some creatures will appear part-human, part-animal, suggesting the connections between humans, animals and the natural world.
The title How Many Fires, How Many Suns, How Many Dawns? comes from an invocation in the Rig Veda, an ancient Sanskrit text that forms part of the oldest Hindu scriptures. It is commonly translated as: “How many fires are there, how many suns, how many dawns, how many waters? I address you, O ancestors, not in rivalry; I ask you, sages, in order to know the truth.” The phrase calls upon ancestral spirits to understand the multiplicity of the universe. It can also be read as a reflection on unity and the ways that all things are connected.
Through this commission, Chanda will continue his exploration of forgotten myths and ancestral figures as a way to consider care, resilience and belonging. By returning to these stories, he will create a space beyond fixed forms of worship or recognition, where deities and histories exist in a porous, shifting terrain.
Chanda (b. 1989, Kolkata; lives and works in London) received his bachelor’s degree in textile design from the National Institute of Design, India, in 2013 and an MFA from the University of Arts, London, in 2021. His work has been exhibited widely in shows internationally, including: The 6th Kochi Muziris Biennale, Kochi (2025, forthcoming); Cample Line, Scotland (2025); Green Art Gallery, Dubai (2024); British Textile Biennial (2023); Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai (2022); Commonage Projects, London (2022); Saatchi Gallery, London (2021); South London Gallery, London (2021) and Nature Morte, New Delhi (2021). He has been selected for The Artsy Vanguard 2026.
There are plenty of welcoming and good value B&Bs & boutique hotels in Bexhill. The De La Warr Pavilion regularly uses the following:
The Relais Cooden Beach Hotel and Spa
Situated on a private beach with uninterrupted views of the English Channel, this immaculately restored four-star hotel is just a 10-minute drive from De La Warr Pavilion. Receive 10% discount on rooms* from Sunday to Thursday (excluding Fridays and Saturdays) using the promo code DLWP. BOOK NOW.
*Offer available until 31 March 2026 (blackout dates apply). Free cancellation up to 24 hours before arrival. Paid partnership with The Relais Cooden Beach Hotel & Spa.
- By Rail
Direct trains go from London Victoria, Brighton and Ashford to Bexhill.
There are also trains from London Charing Cross, changing at St. Leonards Warrior Square and from London Bridge or Charing Cross going to Battle. Battle is only a short taxi journey away (15 mins approx).
Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for up-to-date train travel information. - Taxis
Town Taxis: 01424 211 511
Parkhurst Taxis: 01424 733 456 - By Car
If driving from the London area:
Take the M25, then A21 to Hastings. Turn off at John‘s Cross and follow the signs to Bexhill.
OR
Take the A22 to Eastbourne, go across the Bishop roundabout to the A271 and follow the signs to Bexhill and the seafront. The De La Warr Pavilion is on the Marina.
From the Brighton area:
Follow the A27 out of Brighton until you arrive in Bexhill On Sea. - Parking
Please be aware the Rother District car park outside the De La Warr Pavilion operates paid parking until 10pm. After this time parking is free. There is also limited free car parking along the seafront.
Within the limits of this Grade One listed building, the De La Warr Pavilion strives to be fully accessible with a range of facilities to support your visit.
Assistance Dogs are permitted into the building.
Please contact the Box Office on 01424 229 111 to arrange a visit.
Facilities for disabled visitors
- Ramped access at the front of the building
- A low counter at the Box Office and Information Desk
- Disabled toilets on two floors
- A lift to all floors
- Accessible galleries on both floors
- An accessible Café
- Spaces for wheelchairs in the auditorium for seated events
- Ramped access in the auditorium for events during the day
- Ramped access into the Studio
- Two travel wheelchairs are available for use at the De La Warr Pavilion. To reserve, please call our box office and information desk on (01424) 229111 or ask a member of staff on arrival. The chairs are provided on a first come, first served basis and are intended for use inside the Pavilion. Please contact us for more information.
Facilities for blind or visually-impaired
- Large print season brochures
Facilities for the hard-of-hearing
- An T-Switch induction loop in some areas of the auditorium (please indicate when booking as this facility is not available on the balcony)
- British Sign Language interpretation tours of the building and exhibitions are available on request.
Sensory Bags
- Sensory bags will be available from the Ground floor or First floor gallery and contain supportive items for people with neurodivergence, anxiety or sensory sensitives.Sensory bags include:
One set of ear defenders
A selection of fidget toys
One soft foam stress ball
A set of 6 coloured paddles
One light up magnifying glass. You can sign one out and bring it back before you leave.
Sensory bags are funded by UK Government.