A look at artists who form part of ‘Concurrent India’

A significant show of some exquisite contemporary artworks from India in Finland, entitled ‘Concurrent India’ is produced in cooperation with Kulturhuset in Stockholm. The exhibition in Helsinki is broader in scope than the one on view in Stockholm.
Here is a look at the participating artists and their works:

Bharat Sikka documents the social and cultural changes in India. He has photographed both rural and urban places where the old is disintegrating and the new just starting. The sites in the Space In-Between series are centers of commerce, new urban residential areas or historical sites, whereas in the ‘Panic City’ video
by Gigi Scaria, New Delhi is seen to rise and collapse again and again.

The soundtrack consists of Western music: parts from Giuseppe Verdi’s (1813–1901) opera La Traviata. The ceaseless undulating movement refers to the varied history of the city. It’s also symptomatic of a metropolis where the old is being demolished to make way for the new.

On the other hand, Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra (Thukral & Tagra) exploit the colorful world of advertising and popular culture in their work. Below the attractive surface, however, topical social issues are revealed. Their installation ‘Escaped! While I Was Cooking’ is about bitter disappointment and sad fates often faced by the women abandoned by Indian youths from abroad. The families of brides are willing to pay a handsome dowry to afford their daughter a better life. After the wedding, many of the men rush abroad, leaving the girl.

Sticking to the same theme, another artist presents an unconventional work. As is the tradition, most marriages in this part of the world are still often arranged. matrimonial ads are published in newspapers and online. The key piece of information in them is the candidate’s religion, caste, profession, height and skin tone. Conflicts in India and elsewhere have inspired Archana Hande to question the very idea of pure blood and investigate her own roots. ‘www.arrangeurownmarriage.com’ is a quirky installation that makes an ironic comment on the marriage institution.

(Information courtesy: Helsinki City Art Museum)