JOIN USAn ironic reflection of today's social milieu
Carnival of Dissent, an exhibition of paintings, photographs and video presents the work of young generation Indian and international artists who look at political activism from a creative eye.
On view at the Apeejay Arts complex, the exhibition includes work by artists like Shumon Ahmed, Kush Badhwar, Shweta Bhattad, Sonya Fatah, Claire Fontaine, Chandan Gomes, Vinit Gupta, Morvarid K, Inder Salim, Hemant Sreekumar, Sashi Kumar, Masooda Noora and Anand Patwardhan.
Each artwork reflects the spirit of our turbulent times with themes based on grassroot social and political activism. Through coded language, the works speak about the rebellion against dominant hierarchies. Performance and song are a part too to present the strategies of protest, identity-building, desire to reveal injustice and open out space for personal freedoms. While many of the works are rooted in local contexts and histories and are aligned with specific community agitations, others confront broader topics such as the struggle for women’s empowerment, the rise of Hindutva ideology in India and the global phenomenon of state-condoned suppression and surveillance of civilians.
The emphasis of collaborative and post-authorial positions in the exhibition reflects a turn toward new strategies among a young generation of artists/activists.
This echoes the waves of mass public protests that emerged in India following the Nirbhaya rape case in December 2012 and the vote to power of a new Prime Minister – both of which herald a new era of both suppression and political urgency.
The exhibition attempts to underscore that while forms of protest shift according to social and political context and individual practice, the possibility of change and the necessity of raising one’s voice remains a central preoccupation for the artist/activist.
The response, action or inaction of today’s citizens comes to play a vital role in how we respond to the urgencies of our time. The exhibition presents these artistic and documentary positions which take a variety of aesthetic forms that both reveal and negotiate with dominant power structures in their variety of forms. The exhibition is on view till November 7 at Apeejay Arts, Mathura Road, from 11 am-7 pm.