Exhibition: Manifold – contemporary perspectives from India

Galleri Image presents the group exhibition Manifold – contemporary perspectives from India, curated by Arko Datto. The exhibition opens on 23 August from 4-6 pm. The curator will be present.

The artists behind the exhibition are Rohit Saha, Sukanya Ghosh, Abhishek Khedekar, Gayatri Ganju, Parashar Naik, the artist group B.O.L.C. (Bengalis of Late Capitalism), OFFSET Projects, Suneil Sanzgri, and Anupam Roy.

In the English language, the word manifold implies multitude, plethora, variety. In mathematical physics, “manifolds” allow for complicated structures to be expressed and understood in terms of geometric spaces, like those depicted on an atlas, that are relatively better understood. Drawing from these multiple readings of the word ‘manifold’, we present this current exhibition of Indian contemporary art.

India is a country comprising multiple ethnicities, innumerable languages and comes with a mind-boggling array of associated complexities. Pluralism has long served as an essential cornerstone in this land: in all its conceivable forms, be it religious, political, cultural or philosophical. Of late, there have been significant concerted efforts in this country to collapse its manifold diversities and reduce it to a monolithic map based on majority, language, and religion, while simultaneously opening the land and its people up to the manifold violences of the neoliberal world order, which constantly seeks out newer territories, markets and victims. Arko Datto’s curation intends to resist this and build solidarities in its own way.

Using a plethora of artistic strategies rooted in the image, the artists presented here propose unique perspectives on reading contemporary India, simultaneously distilling, and expanding upon the manifold facets of their chosen topics to present cohesive artistic visions. The exhibition demonstrates both variation in subjects and in methods, from the documentary to and expansive multi-faceted artistic expression and includes photography, video, sound, installation and examples of the distribution of photography through photobooks, social media and zine culture.

On 24 August 2024, Galleri Image will present a symposium with the curator and the artists behind the exhibition at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum. Here, Arko Datto, Tanvi Mishra, Søren Pagter, Shaunak Mahbubani, Suneil Sanzgiri, Anshika Varma and Debora Moritz will put contemporary photographic practises from India in perspective.

The exhibition is supported by the New Carlsberg Foundation, the city of Aarhus (Kulturudviklingspuljen), the Danish Arts Foundation, The Augustinus Foundation, Aage

Host or Publisher Galleri Image