Conflict on canvas

Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with Latitude 28 brings to Chandigarh a thoughtfully curated exhibition of contemporary art.

Dissensus, the exhibition, brings together works by eight artists who have been witness to the political and identity crises in regions of ongoing conflict — Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Kashmir in India, and Pakistan. 

The new entry this year is Priyanka D’Souza, a young MSU Baroda trained artist, who responds to deeply political and social contemporary issues through work that is inspired by Mughal miniatures. Her work will be on display alongside Veer Munshi’s collaboration with Kashmiri craftsmen — another instance of maintaining continuity between tradition and contemporary liberal, humanist ideas. 

Also presented are works by Australia-based artist Khadim Ali, who was recently featured in Art Asia Pacific’s list of top 40 artists under 40 in the Asia Pacific region and acclaimed artist Waseem Ahmed. 

Dissensus also marks the first India exhibition for the Iranian artist Neda Tavalaee, who addresses her feminist concerns through the language of Persian miniatures, for the Taiwan-born, New York-based artist Fay Ku who collages an eclectic account of personal identity through multilayered tableaus that derive their aesthetic from Chinese gongbi and xieyi as well as Persian and Indian miniature paintings, and for the Bangladeshi activist artist GaziNafis Ahmed who has devoted his lens-based practice to documenting precarious communities in Bangladesh.

Opening at 5.30 pm on October 26 at Punjab Kala Bhavan-16. On till November 9. —TNS