International Exhibition “Dissensus” at the galleries of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16 B, Chandigarh.

Chandigarh-9 Oct,Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with gallery LATITUDE28 organised a special ART WALK by well known artist Veer Munshi, who is also one of the artists whose work is on display in the ongoing International Exhibition “Dissensus” at the galleries of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16 B, Chandigarh.

Delhi based Veer Munshi of Kashmiri origin, took the viewers through the exhibition discussing about social, cultural and political aspects of the works on display. It is pertinent to mention that the exhibition, which has been curated by Delhi based curator, editor and publisher Bhavna Kakar, has 60 works of 8 significant artists from 7 countries around India.

Dissensus brings together works by eight artists who have been witness to the political and identity crises in regions of ongoing conflict — Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Kashmir in India, and Pakistan. Even when the issues that are of immediate concern to them range from gender, territorial dispute, anxieties regarding cultural annihilation and ethnic marginalization, these artists withdraw into immediate, everyday contexts, and markers of cultural identity to construct quiet acts of dissent away from the central political stage. These intimate testimonies and observations employ the aesthetic to develop a micro-poetics of the stakes borne by civilians whose concerns are overlooked in media-narratives driven by political figureheads, capital and diplomatic ties. It is not coincidental that several artists find a language in the subtlety of the miniature tradition to voice their politics. Scale and detail evoke the marginal locations of their themes, and the multitude that is united in these narratives.

Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi is proud to invite Latitude28 to bring its exhibition ‘Dissensus’ to Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi at Punjab Kala Bhavan in Chandigarh, continuing its commitment to emerging artists, contextualizing their work alongside eminent artists and also debuting acclaimed international artists in India. This year we are introducing Priyanka D’Souza, a young MSU Baroda trained artist, who responds to deeply political and social contemporary issues through work that is inspired by Mughal miniatures. Her work will be on display alongside Veer Munshi’s collaboration with Kashmiri craftsmen — another instance of maintaining continuity between tradition and contemporary liberal, humanist ideas. Also presented are works by Australia-based artist Khadim Ali, who was recently featured in Art Asia Pacific’s list of top 40 artists under 40 in the Asia Pacific region and acclaimed artist Waseem Ahmed. ‘Dissensus’ also marks the first India exhibition for the Iranian artist Neda Tavalaee, who addresses her feminist concerns through the language of Persian miniatures, for the Taiwan-born, New York-based artist Fay Ku who collages an eclectic account of personal identity through multilayered tableaus that derive their aesthetic from Chinese gongbi and xieyi as well as Persian and Indian miniature paintings, and for the Bangladeshi activist artist GaziNafis Ahmed who has devoted his lens-based practice to documenting precarious communities in Bangladesh.

Latitude 28’s vision is shaped by its Founder/Director, BhavnaKakar, who has over a decade’s experience as a curator, editor, and art consultant.