NORTH/SOUTH

While art from South Asia is often positioned through the divide between the Eastern and Western worlds, within the region, the distinction between North and South remains especially striking. Regionalism is a driving force in South Asian art, where local perspective often supersedes the idea of the nation. This is most pronounced and contrasting in Punjab and Kerala, two states representing the near absolute polarities of South Asia. Focusing on artists from these two, distinct locales, North/South highlights the significance of regional

perspectives in South Asian art, while demonstrating how art-making practices produce a sense of space and place.

 

In Jatinder Singh Durhailay's nostalgic depiction of Sikh family life, Punjab emerges not just as a place, but as a spirit. Aiza Ahmed's paintings of Wagha Border explores how places are divided, often along arbitrary lines, and highlight Punjab's fractured status within the South Asian imagination.

 

Moving South to Kerala, Devi Seetharam’s paintings of men in public space capture the unique spirit of the region through everyday social moments. While critiquing the dominance of men in Kerala's society, her precise, evocative paintings of men wearing mundus present Kerala as not just a place, but a feeling. Lakshmi Madhavan's textile works capture a uniquely Keralite voice through a re-imagining of the generationally-taught kasavu weaving tradition. Working with historic weaving communities in Balarampuram, Madhavan pushes conceptual practice as a means to also preserve the region's living heritage.

 

Through the journey from North to South, this exhibition highlights how artists define and challenge our sense of place, using depictions of fifigures, objects, and textiles as a means to assert regional identity in our visual culture.