“A talisman for Dublin”: Djinn Sculpture unveiled at Trinity East
Posted on: 05 November 2026
A striking 5.4-metre bronze sculpture, Djinn, by internationally acclaimed Indian contemporary artist Bharti Kher has been unveiled by The Form Foundation at a public art site on the Trinity East campus.
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The installation, which will greet all visitors to this part of Trinity College Dublin’s campus, replaces the well-received Ruin of Giants, a pair of companion sculptures by internationally acclaimed artist Tavares Strachan. Their unveiling marked the start of a ten-year programme during which Form Foundation will bring contemporary art to Dublin’s streets and public spaces until 2035.
Taking its title from one of the most enduring figures in Eastern mythology, Djinn (2024) is a bronze sculpture that explores mythology, transformation, and the fluid nature of identity. Its towering body and cluster of bananas in place of a head create a presence that is at once absurd and uncanny. It embodies the djinn’s ambiguous nature and its capacity to be benevolent and powerful.
L-R: L-R: Rachel Thomas (Roden Chief Curator of the Hayward Gallery), Trinity Bursar and Chief Strategic Developments Officer Eleanor Denny, artist Bharti Kher and Danielle Ryan (Co-Founder of the Form Foundation) in front of Djinn at Trinity East
In North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and South Asia, djinns are believed to inhabit a parallel world alongside our own and can assume many forms, appearing as animals, humans, or even inanimate objects. They are associated with mystery and the unseen forces that shape everyday life and the universe, resisting any fixed meaning.
Artist Bharti Kher said: “Djinn has come to Dublin to enter a conversation with the city, with its histories and its myths. Djinn is a shapeshifter and a shaman that moves between the human, animal and spirit worlds. I think of it as a talisman for Dublin City, carrying energy and possibility into a world that seems to be at a crossroads. It asks us to imagine what good might be possible, what might we transform. So maybe we are carried to call on the wisdom of our ancestors, or we make new mythologies to guide us forward.”
Djinn forms part of Kher’s ongoing Intermediaries series, begun in 2016, in which she dismantles and recombines South Indian clay figurines known as golu dolls, to create new hybrid forms.
Trinity’s Provost, Dr Linda Doyle, said: "Bharti Kher's work has energy, presence and a sense of possibility. It is a perfect match for our Trinity East campus, the location of our new Trinity Innovation Hub where the impact of our research is being enhanced through partnerships, ideas, and engagement.
"Art challenges us to think differently and I hope this wonderful sculpture will be a source of delight and inspiration to everyone who visits and works in this part of Trinity's campus."
"Works like this are making an enormous difference to the way we experience the Trinity East campus, adding a sense of playfulness and connection to a place that already brims with ideas," said Eleanor Denny, Bursar and Chief Strategic Developments officer.
Danielle Ryan, co-founder of The Form Foundation, said: “The Form Foundation is committed to bringing the work of some of the world’s most important artists into the public realm. In partnership with Trinity College Dublin, we have created an open and accessible space where everyone can encounter and engage with exceptional international contemporary art.
We are delighted to welcome Bharti Kher’s extraordinary Djinn to Dublin and to share this important work with the city. We hope people will come and see if for themselves - and, in the spirit of Djinn, perhaps make a wish."
The Form Foundation was co-founded by Danielle Ryan and Richard Bourke. In 2022, the Foundation brought Arthur Jafa’s Love is the Message, the Message is Death to the Douglas Hyde Gallery at Trinity College, and with Dublin City Council it brought Bunny Rogers’ NEOPETS to Kildare Street.
Media Contact:
Catherine O’Mahony | Media Relations | catherine.omahony@tcd.ie