Lament Traces
Curated by Manan Shah
On View: 12th Nov - 2nd Dec, 2024
The artist’s duty is to show 'what can not be seen, what lies beneath the visible.'
Figures of History, Jacques Rancière, 2014.
In contemporary times, there is a significant shift in how we conceptualise and curate art exhibitions. Lately, the art exhibitions are focussed on global issues of climate change and sustainability - while neglecting our internal crisis of colonisation, casteism, economic disparities, racism and ideological supremacy - that are deeply rooted within our complex social structure.
An atmosphere of fear has been created which has engulfed our minds, limiting our ability to comprehend the political tools of manipulation. Lament Traces with the artists including: Bhaskar Bordoloi, Kulsoom Khan, Madhurjya Dey, Meher Afroz Vahid, Ram Rahman and Sajan Mani are attentive to express and voice their views which are driven by social-political concerns.
The exhibition seeks to delve into these issues and understand how high politics has influenced social milieu in contemporary times. This exhibition seeks to excavate and unravel the layers of history that have both complicated and defined the idea of “democratic India”
The photographs by Ram Rahman and Chandan Gomes probe into the events and histories marked by oppression in the hands of high politics. These images not only document the past but also transport viewers into these events, positioning them as ‘witnesses’ to the collective history – prompting a critical engagement with the present. The echoes of the past stir present-day anxieties, therefore, the reflections of the past cast its shadows into the present social-political milieu.
The works by Bhaskar Bordoloi, Kulsoom Khan, Madhurjya Dey and Mehar Afroz Vahid are both perceptive and percipient of dominant political forces. Their practice responds to the socio-political changes that have not only deeply impacted them personally, but have also contributed to the oppressive climate in India. Sajan Mani directs our attention to the marginalised communities. His serigraphs on natural rubber sheets are a response to the depths of pain, fear and shame endured by the oppressed bodies.
Bringing together diverse art practitioners across various mediums, this exhibition is a walk through of practices that are counter statements to the instruments of oppression and manipulation. It acknowledges human suffering and trauma while being focussed on the changing nature of the political ecosystem through the regeneration of memory. Lament Traces explores how individuals translate the ideas of pain and loss through intergenerational history.
Artists:
Sajan Mani
Ram Rahman
Meher Afroz Vahid
Madhurjya Dey
Kulsoom Khan
Bhaskar Bordoloi
Chandan Gomes
