10 asian art contemporary art
Broken White II (22, 24 and 25 May, 2011) by Nikhil Chopra. Performance at Centre Pompidou. Courtesy Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai and Galleria Continua, San Gimignano
Reveal The Secrets That You Seek (2011) by Bharti Kher, mirrors and wood and plaster, bindis, variable dimensions. Courtesty of the artist with help of Galerie Perrotin, Paris
Hanuman (2010) by Pierre & Gilles, model Thomas Tabti, painted photograph, 200 x 145.5 cm. Collection of the artists © Courtesy Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris © Adagp, Paris 2011.
A Marriage of Convenience By Raj Punj
PROPOSING AN exhibition of cultural collaboration between two diverse countries, the new Pompidou exhibition of Indian and French contemporary artists appears to be no more than a well-intentioned ‘marriage of convenience’ with the established contemporary French art scene being sized up against the ‘emerging’ Indian art scene. In his opening address, the Pompidou’s Alain Seban declares a seemingly tenuous link between the French artists and their subject matter, ‘for most of the French artists invited to participate in this exhibition, their involvement in the project was what took them to India for the first time ...’. Seban hoped that the French contributions to the Pompidou exhibition might appear less considered and prove more impulsive responses to the curatorial remit. Unfortunately, such well-intentioned thoughts appear somewhat choreographed, engineered even, as the visitor’s (the Indians) play the home side (the French) at their own game and the art divides into cliques: two cultures attempting to cosy up to one another. The 1989 Pompidou exhibition, Les Magiciens de la Terre, was criticised outside of France for its exotic undertones and ill-considered display. Choosing 50 artists from the ‘centre’ of the world and 50 from the ‘margins’. In reference to this, Martin was accused of fashioning art history to fit a radical new formula. The rationale for Parisjune 2011
You Too Can Touch the Moon (2006) by Tejal Shah, from the series Hijra Fantasy, numbered photograph on archive paper, 147 x 96,5 cm © Courtesy of the artist and Project 88, Bombay
Delhi-Bombay in having many more Indians artists than French exhibiting might be considered a remedy for previous idiosyncrasies, but it still holds that this show, like its cantankerous predecessor, does little more than facilitate contrived cultural affiliations between two countries. It might be argued that artists Jitish Kallat, Bharti Kher and Orlan deserve a more considered curatorial approach that avoids these ill-conceived group shows that draw upon ‘the usual suspects’ in order to facilitate ‘cultural dialogues’. Historically, temporary alliances did exist between the French and the Indians that date back to the early 17th century (more often than not formed against the British in India) and in modern times France’s former President, Jacques Chirac, described a desire for an ‘ambitious relationship’ between their two countries, saluting India as ‘a nation which has affirmed its personality on the world stage’. Yet such historical substance tempers this show, as it actually claims to be a show based on a British-American style ‘special relationship’. Without these ties that bind the cultural associations that are recalled by the writer and art historian Deepak Ananth in the introductory literature, this proves enchanting but unconvincing. Ananth refers to the independent forays to the Indian sub-continent by French and European profiteers like film-maker Jean Renoir for his first colour film, The River (1951) and playwright and poet Marguerite Duras’ 1975 novel that inspired the film India Song and
Charu (2004) by Atul Dodiya, from the series Saptapadi: Scenes from Marriage (Regardless), 2004-2006, varnish on plywood, 183 x 122 cm. Collection of the artist © Prakash Rao