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Interview

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Review

Preserving Identities: Exploring Nepal’s Personal Histories in ‘The Importance of Loss: Migration, Memory and Continuity’

In a world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), when we negotiate with our identities on an everyday basis creating digital beings and landscapes coded by inputs from uncountable sources, it is pertinent to ponder upon our history and tradition as tools of archive making and representation of contemporary life. The artists Hitesh Vaidya, Jagdish Moktan, Nabina Sunuwar, Pooja Duwal and Tashi Lama of Aakrit Collective mentored by Sujan Chitrakar seem to employ the very tools in the exhibition The Importance of Loss: Migration, Memory and Continuity to navigate through the cultural and socio-political landscape of Nepal marked by displacement that informs the everyday lives of the contemporary citizens. Curated by Georgina Maddox, the exhibition is presented by Unnati Cultural Village, Nepal, that endeavours to preserve and promote its cultural heritage through multidisciplinarity in the arts.

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Weaving Identity: Reclamation of Craft

The press release and curatorial essay for Seema Kohli's latest exhibition follows a predictable path, connecting the dots between her work and conventional themes. However, such a narrow interpretation only skims the surface of her boundless conceptual potential, hindering the opportunity for profound exploration. In her solo show, Kohli delves into the cosmic energy of femininity and the mystical world of medieval bhakti saints, while also inviting introspection through her intricate blend of images, materials, textures, and labor. These elements not only raise pertinent questions about the creation of value in a commodified society, but also shed light on the persisting caste hierarchies within artisanal practices. Her exhibition also illuminates the complex dynamics that emerge when craft practices intersect with contemporary art.

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Beyond the Page: South Asian Miniature Painting and Britain, 1600 to Now

The exhibition Beyond the Page: South Asian Miniature Painting and Britain, 1600 to Now examines the traditions and legacies of South Asian miniature painting through major examples of miniatures from as early as the mid-16th century right up to the present day, with the re-engagement of modern and contemporary artists with the form. The exhibition brings together 180 works from private and public collections across the UK and internationally. This is the first time that many of the early miniature paintings from the Royal Collection, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the British Museum have been on public display. The exhibition is a chance to chart the trajectories and encounters between the traditional early miniatures, and modern and contemporary reinterpretations.

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Devraj Dakoji – A Force of Nature

Dakoji’s journey of artistic production has been prolific. His training in printmaking under the tutelage of powerful thinkers such as K.G.Subramanyan and Jyoti Bhatt during his stint at M.S. University Baroda in the mid-60s; his post-graduate studies at the Chelsea School of Arts in the mid-70s through a British Council scholarship; and his later presence at the Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque New Mexico U.S.A in the early 90s, all contributed to the immense possibilities he found in the print process. Keen on new experiences, Dakoji found inspiration in travels that took him through England and Europe, as well as across India.

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Looking from an ‘Aesthetic Distance’: Photographing Babasaheb Ambedkar in Vellore

An ambiance of trepidation prevails in most of the Dalit localities of Vellore; thus as an outsider, these statues appear appealing only if seen from an ‘aesthetic distance’, and Marcelo abided by it. Being a foreigner in India, his social identity was not perceived as a threat to the community and he operated from a rather safer zone. His photographs read these sculptures in many layers, forcing the viewers to engage with critical contexts. They often evoke a sense of ambivalence between the ideas of sacred and profane, haptic and the optic. The cage act like a barrier between the viewer and the viewed.

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Interview

200 Years and Counting: Brasilia, Art and Architecture: Manan Shah in conversation with Leticia Marranghello

The museums traditionally have been the representatives of history and human civilisation. Over the course of time, they have evolved to have a multi-disciplinary nature in terms of having an audience-friendly milieu by including a variety of programs and outreach activities. In the said manner, Bihar Museum in Patna has been working towards creating an environment which attracts visitors, providing information with an interactive experience. Bihar Museum, moving beyond the place of traditional knowledge systems, has forged to become a space for cultural exchange, inviting national and international artists, speakers and exhibitions to Patna.

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Nasreen Mohamedi: Singularity and Sociability

Nasreen Mohamedi’s hand-written letter to her close friend, artist Nilima Sheikh exudes a sense of both restraint and tenderness. With her formal handwriting, she composes what appears as a verse of concrete poetry – simultaneously referencing and exploring ideas of space – on a piece of graph paper. Providing a window into the late Modernist’s preoccupations with nature, abstraction, and the limits of perception, this letter, describing the seashore at Kihim, also inspires the title of her latest retrospective at Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF) – Nasreen Mohamedi: The Vastness, Again and Again.

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