A quick glance at the works on view courtesy Pearl Lam

A new exhibition courtesy Pearl Lam Fine Art presents an array of works from fifteen noteworthy contemporary Indian and Chinese artists. Some of the highlights of the works that form part of the show, ‘Window in the Wall’, are as follows:

‘Familiar Music from the Old Theatre’ (2011), an interesting work by artist Manjunath Kamath, reveals an imaginary narrative, where the essential enigmatic nature of the images and its meaning are in flux, open to viewer interpretation.

Chinese artist Tan Xun's sculptural installation Limingzhuang Program Column series (2008) is based on historical inspiration and reflects on cultural identity. Scenes inspired by Song Dynasty poems have been carved onto Qin dynasty wooden beams. Without an attempt to disguise the material or its function, a daily object is transformed into a sculptural work to serve as a testament of the artist’s cultural identity.

Drawn from the ephemeral, the narrative here functions as a way to perceive the world, pointing to the possibilities of the unspoken, unrevealed events. Elements of pop, mythology and media are combined to create surreal and naturalistic worlds.

A surreal combination of reality and the imaginary is present in the work Equator (2011) by video artist and sculptor Gigi Scaria. This photoscape tries to investigate the relationship between society and architecture, urban structures and social displacement. The work explores the impact of the recent boom in Asian cities, such as New Delhi and Shanghai, by establishing a liminal delineation that challenges the human psyche and its relationship with modern progress.

On the other hand, ‘Transit series’ (2011) executed by Mithu Sen provokes both humor and serious consideration. Combining watercolors and collages, these intimate works invite response to subjective experiences of femininity and identity through memories of transition. The imagery links the kitschy femininity of flowers arrangements with anatomic details and linear configurations that transform into ornamental structure.