Saturday, February 16, 2013

Indian participation at APT7

LN Tallur, Atul Dodiya, and Dayanita Singh are among the several renowned artists from India who feature at the ongoing APT7. 

LN Tallur’s sculptures blend traditional craftsmanship with high technology and social critique. His ‘Chromatophobia’ series uses currency and the gold standard to invoke the contradictions of global exchange. Works featured in APT7 include a traditional Hindu sculpture in which the central figure has been displaced by a mass of concrete and coins; and an ornate votive chariot based on the shape of the largest nugget ever found, unearthed during the Australian gold rush. 

Known for his kinetic sculptures which often comment on society and politics, the artist’s works combine a sharp wit along with a prodigious use of materials. His works may appear quintessentially ‘Indian’ at first, but they certainly participate in the most advanced dialogues surrounding sculpture today and reveal themselves to be both cosmopolitan and historically astute.

The idea for the works by Atul Dodiya here developed after a 1997 visit to the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, a recurring figure in his work. Noticing a cabinet of personal effects, documents and photographs, he found a way to express his fascination for how such a personal collection of belongings can shape lives and become part of a collective memory. APT7 also features a new series of cabinet works looking closely at regional art histories.

Dayanita Singh has attained international fame as an accomplished photographer. Exploring the varied possibilities and inherent limitations of color film seen in the traditional sense, without the assistance of computer manipulations or digital photography, she produced the series ‘Blue Book’. Though renowned as a photographer, Dayanita Singh likes to describe herself more as a ‘maker of books’.

Containing little or no text, her books convey their themes and narratives through images. Portraits, street scenes, interiors and archives from cities across India are constructed as interconnecting short stories, drawing on her early career as a photojournalist, as well as on literary fiction, producing lyrical combinations.

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