An idea born out of the refugee crisis of the past few years culminated in the show ‘Legacies of Crossings’, which showcases the works of 13 artists from across South Asia, each of whom has had an experience with migration or colonisation — either personally, or as part of their heritage.

Displayed at London’s Shahnaz Gallery, which is home to antique art objects from around the world, the artwork from ‘Legacies of Crossings’ is deliberately nestled in close juxtaposition with objects from the gallery’s collection that have also travelled from far and wide, and traversed a common terrain.

Curated by Zahra Khan of Foundation Art Divvy — an institution that provides a platform locally and internationally to art from South Asia — the 13 artists included in this show originate from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. According to the curator, “In this show, artists explore their own journeys, the joys and traumas of navigating new cultures, the lingering memories of home, and the ways these experiences shape their lives and their art. The reverberations of these migrations have shaped our contemporary landscape and have continued to be felt generations after the initial displacements.”

Artist Kavan Balasuriya, draws parallels between the colonial histories of his home country Sri Lanka with that of Myanmar, India and the United Kingdom (all places that he has called home at different times). He focuses on commonalities found in architectural design, such as corrugated metal roofing sheets.

Ideas of home, colonial legacies and migration take centre stage at an exhibition in London celebrating South Asian art

As evident in the piece Resonator, his work is small in scale, his technique intimate and labour-intensive, as he makes subtle and delicate marks on aluminium foil to replicate the texture of the roofing sheets that he has encountered in the different countries he has resided in.

Where Balasurya looks for similarity in architecture in historically colonised nations, Noor Ali Chaggani looks to urban infrastructure, particularly in Pakistan, to gauge the prevalent mood of the masses. He has reproduced structures, such as urban boundary walls, architectural columns and road barricades, on an infinitely smaller scale, bringing the palimpsest they represent out in the open, into the confines of the gallery.

Titled Riasat-i-Madina and Pillars Pakistan III, these miniature replicas represent structures that serve as canvases where individuals, anonymous folk or political parties share their sentiments, propaganda or thoughts.

Displayed amidst Shahnaz Gallery’s historical artefacts of the Far East and South Asia, and in complete contrast to the above mentioned artists, is Sophia Balagamwala’s animation titled WhereAbouts Unknown/Ata Patta Maloom Nahin, that takes public sentiment to a completely different level — one of endurance and indignation.

Balagamwala’s work is an overt political commentary on bureaucracy and government structures in Pakistan. The sound bites in the animation replicate a news report rather accurately, as the piece delivers a pertinent message that entrenches itself in the obstinate lack of accountability that plagues Pakistani society and government.

Fact and fiction converge in the script and language of this piece that is based on broadcasts and memos, and highlights relentless corruption. Originally made for the Paul Mellon Centre, the aim of the animation is to look at tools of shaping and understanding identity in the Indian Subcontinent during the British Raj, and that which continue to persist today.

A common symbol evident in works of some artists, namely Anuskhka Rustomji (who explores myths of creation), Samanta Batra Mehta (who references migration and borders) and Firi Rahman (who investigates the status of refugees), are birds.

Rahman’s work is a commentary on the experiences of refugees and migrants who exist in an ambiguous and uprooted state of being. He illustrates parakeets that he observed in Paris as analogies for refugees. These exotic birds were introduced along luxury trade routes in the past but, as they adapted and thrived in their new found environment, they became a threat to the natural fauna of this land and are presently perceived as a threat.

According to the artist, they too are refugees in a foreign land. Rahman’s practice reflects a deep empathy for creatures of flight — finding their interactions as mirroring human experiences. The monochrome pencil and ink drawings are meant to evoke grief and angst, which is reinforced by the lack of colour in his works.

Also included in the show are the moving artworks of artists Affan Baghpati, Amba Sayal Bennett, Palash Bhattacharjee, Akanksha Kamath, Saba Khan, Gunjan Kumar and Natasha Malik.

‘Legacies of Crossings’ was on display at Shahnaz Gallery, London from May 21-June 21, 2024

The reviewer is a freelance writer and has written for various organisations including Dawn, ArtNow, and The Karachi Collective

Published in Dawn, EOS, June 30th, 2024