Exploring a world where time has no boundaries

What if time did not move in a straight line? What if the past, present and future could exist together, without following the rules we have always known?

Artist and author Tarab Khan explores this idea in her upcoming exhibition ‘Time Unchained’, which will be presented at the Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery in Mumbai from September 15 to 20, 2026. The exhibition brings together her interest in storytelling, symbolism and imagined worlds, creating a space where familiar ideas begin to appear in unfamiliar ways.

For Khan, the starting point was a simple but fascinating thought — travelling so far into the future that one eventually reaches the end of time.

“I was fascinated by the thought of travelling so far into the future that one could reach the end of time,” she says. “But I didn’t imagine that end as destruction. I imagined a universe so overwhelmed by its own creation that reality itself begins to glitch.”

That imagined glitch became the foundation for ‘Time Unchained’. Her paintings bring together astronauts, objects from different eras, imaginary boats, wandering clouds and mystical creatures. Nothing necessarily belongs where it appears, and that is precisely the point.

Rather than creating a conventional science-fiction world, Khan uses displacement to encourage viewers to look at familiar things differently. An object from one age may suddenly find itself in another. A landscape can feel both ancient and futuristic. The paintings leave enough space for viewers to create their own interpretations.

“My paintings have always had stories hidden within them,” she says. “I enjoy bringing together things that logically may not belong in the same place. That moment of surprise opens another door to a mystical universe.”

Storytelling has been an important part of Khan’s creative practice for years. Her journey extends beyond the canvas into writing and publishing. A published author, she has recently had her content included in books published by Penguin and has also conceptualised art for illustrations for Juggernaut.

Her academic background is in Economics, with a Master’s degree, but her professional journey eventually took her towards art, writing and visual storytelling. Rather than seeing these disciplines as separate, Khan has allowed them to influence one another.

This connection between different creative forms is also reflected in her work with children. Khan is a co-founder of Creo Global Private Limited, a creative venture developing a hybrid physical and digital ecosystem for children. The venture brings together gaming, toys, DIY activity sets, books, storytelling and creative learning.

For Khan, the idea is to take storytelling beyond traditional formats.

“For me, writing, painting and creating for children are all connected,” she says. “Sometimes an idea becomes a painting, sometimes a story, and sometimes an entire world that a child can interact with.”

Several publishing projects are also taking shape within this creative space, including a Master Colouring Book, a five-book bedtime story series, a storytelling book and other titles for young readers.

The same urge to build worlds lies at the centre of ‘Time Unchained’. The exhibition does not attempt to explain time as a scientific concept. Instead, Khan approaches it through imagination, asking viewers to consider what reality might look like if chronology itself were no longer fixed.

“Perhaps we understand time only because we experience it in sequence,” she says. “I wanted to imagine what happens when that sequence disappears.”

The result is a world where centuries seem to overlap and reality appears to have forgotten some of its own rules. Yet there is little sense of darkness or destruction in Khan’s imagined universe. Curiosity, colour and wonder remain at its centre.

After more than a decade of artistic practice and exhibitions, ‘Time Unchained’ marks another step in Khan’s continuing exploration of the relationship between art and storytelling. Her paintings invite viewers not simply to look, but to imagine what might exist beyond the familiar boundaries of time.

At the Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Mumbai, from September 15 to 20, visitors will have an opportunity to enter that world — a place where the past can meet the future, memories can mingle with dreams, and time itself can finally come undone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Askari Jaffer

Askari Jaffer[email protected]

Askari Jaffer, Features Editor, with a longstanding interest in writing a range of stories, has earned herself a place in the field of journalism. With strong values and courage acquired from her father, who served in the Indian Defence, she reflects in her writings. A strong desire to learn about the legal system, she has focused her writing on women's challenges. She writes about the women who became successful in various fields to inspire others. She takes an interest in education, health, lifestyle, fashion and entertainment too.

Read More