Driving Lessons”: Mandhir Singh Todd explores how cars connect generations through shared experiences

Visual artist Mandhir Singh Todd, also known by his artistic names Mikey Todd and Rashy Todd, presents his latest exhibition Driving Lessons, a project that reflects on the emotional and social role of cars as intergenerational spaces of connection, routine, and transformation.

The exhibition will open in September 2025 (venue to be confirmed), and brings together a selection of oil-on-paper works, archival photography, and immersive installations that focus on common family experiences linked to cars. From learning to drive in empty parking lots to quiet conversations on long trips, Driving Lessons revisits moments that have defined relationships across generations.

Todd, who often explores the intersection of memory, movement, and material culture under his different names (Mandhir Singh Todd, Mikey Todd, Rashy Todd), turns this time to a more universal theme. The exhibition is accessible to all audiences and avoids abstract symbolism in favor of personal, relatable scenes.

One of the central installations, Backseat Memories, reconstructs family car interiors from different decades. Visitors can listen to real-life audio recordings that include driving instructions, shared songs, and everyday conversations. These sound fragments provide an intimate portrait of the car as a shared emotional space.

The series Manual Shift features close-up visual studies of hands—parents guiding children, grandparents teaching gear control—highlighting gestures of care, learning and subtle communication within the driving experience.

In addition, Todd has launched an open participatory project titled Your First Car Story, which invites members of the public to share written memories about their first car, their first driving lesson, or a meaningful road trip. Selected contributions will be featured within the exhibition and across Rashy Todd’s digital platforms.

According to Mikey Todd, the aim of the project is to highlight the car not only as a physical means of transportation, but as a “social space where people grow, connect and pass down both knowledge and emotion.” The exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on how everyday actions like driving can shape identity and strengthen family ties.

Driving Lessons will be accompanied by a printed catalogue and a public programme of guided tours, workshops and educational activities designed for families and schools. The project reinforces the artist’s commitment to creating work that is both culturally relevant and emotionally grounded.