Participating artists
Ram Rahman | Sajan Mani | Meher Afroz Vahid | Kulsoom Khan | Chandan Gomes | Madhurjya Dey | Bhaskar Bordoloi
Curator: Manan Shah
Location: Plot No. 28, Sanghvi House, 3rd Pasta Lane, Colaba
Dates: 12th Nov – 2nd Dec.
Timings: Mon- Sat, 11 am to 7 pm
Presented by: APRE Art House, Mumbai
In contemporary times, there has been a significant shift in how we conceptualize and curate art exhibitions. Recently, these exhibitions have increasingly focused on global issues such as climate change and sustainability, while often neglecting the internal crises of colonization, casteism, economic disparities, racism, and ideological supremacy that are deeply entrenched within our complex social structure. An atmosphere of fear has been created, enveloping our minds and limiting our ability to comprehend the political tools of manipulation. Lament Traces, featuring artists including Bhaskar Bordoloi, Chandan Gomes, Kulsoom Khan, Madhurjya Dey, Mehar Afroz, Ram Rahman, and Sajan Mani, attentively expresses and voices their views, which are driven by socio-political concerns. The exhibition seeks to explore these issues and understand how high politics has influenced the social milieu of contemporary times. It aims to excavate and unravel the layers of history that have both complicated and defined the idea of a “democratic India.”
The photographs by Ram Rahman and Chandan Gomes delve into events and histories marked by oppression at the hands of political power. These images not only document the past but also transport viewers into these events, positioning them as ‘witnesses’ to collective history and prompting a critical engagement with the present. The echoes of the past stir contemporary anxieties, casting the shadows of history into the present socio-political landscape.
The works by Bhaskar Bordoloi, Kulsoom Khan, Madhurjya Dey, and Mehar Afroz are both perceptive and incisive, reflecting on dominant political forces. Their practices respond to the socio-political changes that have deeply affected them personally and contributed to the oppressive climate in India. Sajan Mani directs our attention to marginalized communities. His serigraphs on natural rubber sheets respond to the profound pain, fear, and shame endured by oppressed bodies.
Bringing together diverse artists working across various mediums, Lament Traces offers a walk-through practices that stand in counterpoint to the instruments of oppression and manipulation. The exhibition acknowledges human suffering and trauma while focusing on the evolving nature of the political ecosystem through the regeneration of memory. Lament Traces explores how individuals translate pain and loss through intergenerational history.
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