In the unassuming suburban Toronto district of Scarborough, a powerful new monument to resistance, transformation and spiritual transcendence has just been permanently installed on the grounds of a Sikh gurdwara. A highlight of this year’s Toronto Biennial of Art, Nirbhai (nep) Singh Sidhu’s large-scale outdoor sculpture A Deathless Potential In Remembrance By You (2026) manifests the concept of Jivan Mukti, a state of being spiritually liberated while still alive.
The spiritual concept is one shared by many faiths, such as the Islamic concept of jihad al nafs or the struggle with the ego. Sidhu tells The Art Newspaper that Jivan Mukti is a state of being attained through the acts of Simran (a practice of stillness and deep listening), Seva (selfless service) and Sangat (community).
Sidhu’s work consistently fuses elements of both traditional Sikh faith and contemporary realities, as in past projects like a pinball machine draped in traditional Punjabi decoration, or paintings that fuse Sikh scriptural calligraphy and algorithms. In his project for theScarborough Gurdwara’s garden, he returns to an almost classical formalism—albeit one infused with elements of the ancient and the modern.
Nirbhai (nep) Singh Sidhu, A Deathless Potential In Remembrance By You, 2026. On view at the Scarborough Gurdwara as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art, 2026 Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art. Photo courtesy of the artist
Sidhu first met the Toronto Biennial of Art’s curator Allison Glenn after he wrote a piece reflecting on the Sikh genocide for an issue of the Brooklyn Rail that she guest edited in 2023. Shortly after receiving the Toronto Biennial of Art commission last year, Sidhu travelled to India to visit the Gurdwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, which is dedicated to Safar-e-Shahadat, or the “journey of martyrdom”. There, he says, he was moved by the story of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth guru of Sikhism, whose father was martyred by the emperor Aurangzeb for refusing to renounce his faith. All four of his sons were also killed during his lifetime, two in battle and two were executed—“bricked alive” Sidhu says for “standing for their faith and beliefs”.
Through a network of cousins, the artist was able to bring earth from the Gurdwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib site to Canada and mix it with the bricks that form his sculpture’s rectangular structure, which references the entombment of the guru’s sons. This as an act of subversion and resistance in itself, Sidhu says, as members of Sikh communities in Canada claim they have been surveilled by representatives of both the Indian and Canadian states.
“This earth holds memory,” Sidhu says. “It hasn’t been processed—it is pure and unadulterated by chemicals. It maintains an electricity that allows Sikhs in Canada to access their homeland at a time when many have had their Indian passports cancelled or visas denied [by the Indian government]. They can come here and touch the earth and feel that visceral connection.”
The use of the brick structure, Sidhu says, is not intended to “retrigger” the tragedy of the killing of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s sons, but rather as a form of transcendence and resilience. The bricks hide the sculpture’s steel structural frame and are arranged in an asymmetrical pattern that features tiny apertures—letting in light and framed views of the surrounding greenery.
“I wanted these bricks to be like an eruption in a joyous rebellion—as if in a dance,” Sidhu says. “I wanted to figure out how to make a static object engage in movement, how to unlock it from something that is disturbing.”
Detail of Nirbhai (nep) Singh Sidhu's A Deathless Potential In Remembrance By You (2026), on view at the Scarborough Gurdwara as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art, 2026 Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art. Photo courtesy of the artist
The sculpture’s brick structure sits atop an infinity-edged steel trough that functions as a fountain, at once Mughal and modern. At each of its four sides, sculptures depicting the four martyred sons of the guru feature ceremonial daggers that are meant, Sidhu says, to evoke both self-defence and the death of the ego.
Surrounding Sidhu’s sculpture, edged in polished raw concrete paving and benches, is a garden designed by Alan Shields that, like the work itself, transcends the specificity of the Sikh genocide with a more universal embrace. The north end of the garden features British- and Indian-style plantings like roses, while the Eastern section features Asian plants like Japanese maples, the south end has plants native to Ontario and the boreal forest, and the western side features a mix of all the above.
Sidhu says that beyond the specificity of the Sikh genocide, he was “very aware” of ongoing genocides while working on the installation, from Gaza to the missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. He hopes the work offers a “deep power of invitation” to contemplate the resistance and resilience of oppressed communities from every faith and culture.
- Nirbhai (nep) Singh Sidhu: A Deathless Potential In Remembrance By You, Scarborough Gurdwara, Scarborough, Ontario
- 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art: Things Fall Apart, until 20 December, various locations, Toronto
- The second day of the 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art’s upcoming three-day convening, An Arrival, A Grounding, A Departure (16-18 October), will take place at the Scarborough Gurdwara around Nirbhai (nep) Singh Sidhu’s commission
