Hetain Patel

Patel also uses his art to explore the concepts behind masculinity. Oh Man (2018) was a collaborative project between Contact Youth Company and Hetain Patel which explored both the positive qualities of masculinity and the problems caused by toxic masculinity, as well as trying to understand how perceptions of masculinity can affect people of all genders.

In 2014, a UK based dance company Candoco known for their disabled and non-disabled performers, has assigned Hetain Patel to create a choreographical art piece. In his first ever commissioned dance choreography Patel brings to the surface social concerns such as representation exploration and identity perception of Candoco's dancers. Lets Talk About Dis challenges viewers in its own playful tone to think beyond boundaries and offers them a courage to be much more honest and transparent about their personalities and communication. However, during 30 minutes, there is not much typically expected dance showing involved. Patel and dancers focuses on delivering a message on diversity, inclusion and improper public correctness. Hetain smartly navigate audience with a minimal spoken word parts of performance, through the fluid usage of three languages: English, French and BSL.

In 2013 he made his debut at TED Global conference in Edinburgh. During his 9 minutes of storytelling, Patel spoke about assumptions and expectations made on how people look like, sound, their heritage, gender or race, and class. Hetain puts emphasis on a fact that even if imitating our role models fails we still might learn and discover ourselves by imitating them.

Patel's exploration of identity and culture is a key feature and common theme throughout his work. Sacred Bodies(2004/5) is a collection of self-portraits in which Patel tries to better understand his Indian cultural heritage. To create each piece, he covered his upper body in patterns using henna (a pigment used for mehndi) and a red pigment, Kanku, used for markings of cultural importance in Hindu communities.

The alienation and racial abuse Patel suffered growing up motivates him to produce art that is inclusive, uplifts and appreciates marginalised groups. As Patel became older a major inspiration was his father, who worked at a day job converting cars, inspiring him to create his first sculpture. Patel converted his first car, gifted by his father in 1997, into his first sculpture Fiesta Transformer. The converted Ford Fiesta sculpture has become a symbol of the working-class. Patel's attraction to fantasticism along with movies such as Transformers influenced his sculpture, hence the title Fiesta Transformer.

Hetain Patel; (born 1980) is an English visual artist specializing in performance, sculpture, video, and photography. His work has been exhibited in Norway, India, Belgium, and throughout the UK.