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ART & CULTURE | INDIA ART FAIR 2020

Attitudes and IdentityWhere the familiar becomes fabulous

Rosalyn D’Mello | 31 Jan, 2020

Notation by Mequitta Ahuja (Courtesy: Aicon Gallery)

he 12th edition of the India Art Fair (IAF) returns to the NSIC grounds in Delhi, oering emerging and

established collectors a safe space to buy art from at least 75 South Asian and international galleries. IAF

2020 prides itself on ‘positioning artists at its core’, though we’re not quite sure how exactly, especially

within the ambit of what continues to be a commercial event, which has tried to nurture an overarching curatorial

dimension. Perhaps certain new initiatives, like the artist-in-residence programme wherein six artists and a collectiv

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have been invited to conduct workshops for enlisted participants, is evidence of the promised shi. Whether it is or

not, it will help demystify for the public the aura that shrouds the art making enterprise.

Paper acionado Manisha Parekh, for instance, will share her knowledge of making art from waste paper, while New

Yorker Ghiora Aharoni will instruct his audience in methods of collaborative, cross-cultural collage making and

Gagan Singh will impart his self-accumulated wisdom about cartooning.

Accessibility does seem key for many such planned interventions. The facade of the main exhibition halls will be

covered by a canvas upon which Sameer Kulavoor will have painted instances and scenes from the everyday life of

everyday people, alerting us to moments of aesthetic splendour that can go unnoticed because we haven’t been

trained to look at them as artful. From the geometry of baskets piled one upon the other to mattresses stacked such

that they form a wall, human gures are positioned harmoniously in relation to objects in Kulavoor’s work. One

imagines that seeing visual depictions of familiar objects could make contemporary art feel less elitist and alienating

to visitors who may not necessarily be ‘from’ the art world.

This is not a still life by Sameer Kulavoor (Courtesy: Sameer Kulavoor)

Even the outdoor projects seem relatable and readable and don’t seem to require reams of explanatory text. There’s

denitely an immediacy to Anita Dube’s revived 1994 metal sculpture inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du

Mal (The Flowers of Evil), resembling a cyborg-like being, a reection of her concern with personal and societal loss

in a technocratic age. One can imagine audiences lining up to experience Farah Mulla’s immersive Crosstalk, which

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determinedly explores the intersections between audience, space, sound, and colour vibrations. But the sure-shot hi

because of the simplicity of its medium, its site-specicity, and its potential for implicating visitors within its frame,

will be Martin Parr’s Live Photography Project, 2020. At his booth in the Fair, we can look forward to rst-hand access

into the Magnum photographer’s haughty eye that delights in zooming in on aesthetic contradictions among aspects

of the every day as it captures, on his camera, both people and exhibits, or perhaps people in relation to exhibits.

Attending IAF might thus land you a prime spot as a subject in one of the famed photographer’s photographs. How i

one to resist the chance to inadvertently be the subject of an artwork?

One imagines that seeing visual depictions of familiar objects couldmake contemporary art feel less elitist and alienating to visitors

While it’s possible to spot a photographer in action, doing his thing, audiences are also guaranteed prime access to

provocative performance art. We’re particularly keen on Maya Krishna Rao’s promised Loose Woman, directed and

performed by the national award-winning theatre artist and social activist. Slated for January 31, the 45-minute long

performance will oer absorptive glimpses into the life of a woman ‘who nds herself in situations that push, pull an

stretch her skin, as it were’. Her looseness is also conjured, coaxed and driven by the mediums of theatre, sound, and

camera. From everything we’ve experienced of Rao, this one sounds as riveting and presenced as her other work.

Over four hours, Nigerian multimedia artist, Jelili Atiku will perform Nobody is Born Wise, which will also function as

an installation art piece wherein Atiku will invite audiences to participate in a ritual of colouring sacred sculptural

objects in turmeric, a tradition not uncommon to Indian culinary and socio-religious practices.

Within the conventional fair display, we urge you to look for brilliant work by Mequitta Ahuja, who claims a South

Asian and African American descent. Ahuja plays with self-portraiture as a way of engaging with her identity.

Beyond the main exhibition booths you’ll nd the Focus section composed of seven galleries highlighting various

modes of artistic practice. We are keen to explore Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke’s display of oil-on-canvas

paintings by Trivandrum-based Ratheesh T whose muse remains his home state of Kerala, with scenes drawing from

his encounters with vernacular vocabularies.

Within the ‘Platform’ element which will expose visitors to South Asian galleries, collectives, and projects, we’re mos

excited about the ever-evolving Kathmandu-based Nepal Picture Library, a digital photo archive run by photography

platform, photo.circle which, since its inception in 2011, has collected over 70,000 photographs from private and

organisation-based sources, making it a repository for Nepali history.

Another welcome addition to this year’s edition which we hope will become an integral element is the ocial IAF

Bookshop and Cafe. This space will also double up as the learning space where artists will conduct workshops. Look

out for a selection of zines published by Bombay Underground, founded by Aqui Thami and Himanshu S who also

operate the Dharavi Art Room and run the Bombay Zine Fest.

THIS YEAR ARTISTS are also at the core of the talks programme that

take place at the auditorium at the Fair. Amar Kanwar and Kathmandu

based NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati will discuss ways of showing art

and creating spaces for audience engagement in a South Asian contex

especially amid mitigating factors, such as limited infrastructure,

political constraints and increasing censorship. Turner prize-

nominated Bangladeshi artist Naeem Mohaiemen and Indian artist,

Pallavi Paul will elaborate on the proposition ‘When Artists Say ‘We’’, a

talk that might discuss collectivity among cultural workers as a viable

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Dancing girl by Ratheesh T (Courtesy GalerieMirchandani + Steinruecke)

In the water is a wild Happines by Natesa Amin(Courtesy: Galerie Isa)

counter to a hyper-capitalist art market. Whether the talk will embrac

mention of movements like #MeToo, the weaponising of defamation

suits to silence those who speak up against sexual abuse in the art

world, and/or the recent attempts at unionising is, justiably, a matter

of some suspense.

Beyond the Fair, too

artists are poised at

the centre of some

signicant

exhibitions. Three

among these, at the

Kiran Nadar

Museum of Art,

Saket, curated by

Roobina Karode,

should be mandator

for all visiting art

lovers because they

illustrate the massiv

aesthetic

accomplishments by

female Indian

contemporary artist

These include Zarina: A Life in Nine Lines, which brings together works by Ayesha Sultana, Prabhavathi Meppayil, Lal

Rukh and Sumakshi Singh; and the much awaited, Abstracting Nature, which has works by the late Mrinalini

Mukherjee in dialogue with those by Jayshree Chakravarty. Also worth visiting is Remen Chopra’s anticipated solo at

24, Jor Bagh, hosted by The Gujral Foundation, oering a glimpse into her wide-ranging practice that explores

history, identity, belonging and self-transformation.

When you tire of all the artist-centrism, put your own needs rst and head on down to the newly opened Pond

Gallery in Delhi’s Safdarjung’s B Block market where you’ll nd a safe space to nurse your inner rage. Thukral &

Tagra, in collaboration with Pollinator, have conceived a touchingly simple show, Nafrat/Parvah whose premise is

uncomplicated and democratic. Exchange your hate to receive an experience of care. Literally, take an object along

that you absolutely despise, write a note explaining why, and pick a care item from the menu. Research will reveal

that such an idea has been executed before, making it not as innovative as you would expect. Still, if a work of art can

go beyond being object and translate directly into an experience of relative healing for an audience, in our books it’s

win.

(Visit indiaartfair.in for details. India Art Fair is open to the public from January 31 to February 2, Delhi)

2020 art exhibition expression India Art Fair 2020 Live Photography Project

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ABOUT THE AUTHORRosalyn D’MelloRosalyn D’Mello is an art critic and the author of A Handbook For My Lover

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