Homelands: Art from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
12 November 2019 – 2 February 2020
Through photography, sculpture, painting, performance and film, Homelands told stories of migration and resettlement in South Asia and beyond, as well as violent division and unexpected connections.
The exhibition engaged with displacement and the transitory notion of home in a region marked by the repercussions of the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, and the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, as well as by contemporary migration. The artists explored intimate and political histories, often contesting borders, questioning common pasts and imagining new futures.
The exhibition included many new works and works being shown in the UK for the first time by Bani Abidi, Shilpa Gupta, Sohrab Hura, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Seher Shah, Iftikhar Dadi and Elizabeth Dadi, Munem Wasif and Zarina, as well as a commission by Desmond Lazaro working with communities in North Cambridge and a performance by Nikhil Chopra on 3 December. There was a symposium exploring themes of the exhibition on 18 January.
Curated by Devika Singh with Amy Tobin and Grace Storey.
Gallery
Install photos by Stephen White
Discussion: Crossing Boundaries: Art-making between Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
Hear Homelands artists Sohrab Hura, Desmond Lazaro, Seher Shah and Munem Wasif in conversation with exhibition curator, Devika Singh, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern.
Performance: Nikhil Chopra, Rouge
On 3 December 2019 Nikhil Chopra performed Rouge, a durational live action drawing, between the galleries at Kettle’s Yard.
Listen to him in conversation with Catherine Wood, Senior Curator, International Art (Performance), Tate Modern, about Rouge and his wider practice.
Symposium: ‘Homelands: Art, Conflict and Displacement in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan’
Exploring themes raised in the exhibition, Homelands artists Bani Abidi, Iftikhar Dadi and Yasmin Jahan Nupur convened with researchers Sophie Ernst, Syed Manzoorul Islam, Zehra Jumabhoy, Alina Khakoo, Hammad Nasar and Nada Raza.
Reflections from Home
Reflections from Home No.5: Sohrab Hura, Delhi, India
During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, Kettle’s Yard asked artists to offer their ‘reflections from home’ through images, film and text. Two artists from Homelands offered their contributions to the series.
Reflections from Home No.8: Seher Shah, New Delhi, India
During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, Kettle’s Yard asked artists to offer their ‘reflections from home’ through images, film and text. Two artists from Homelands offered their contributions to the series.
Publication: Homelands: Art from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
This publication accompanies the exhibition Homelands: Art from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, at Kettle’s Yard, curated by Devika Singh with Amy Tobin and Grace Storey.
The publication includes contributions by Nancy Adajania, Homi K. Bhabha and each of the artists.
Thank you
We are grateful to the following for their generous support:
Chandrika Baji Pathak
Chatterjee & Lal
Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational in partnership with Hyundai Motor
Maya Sama
Waqas Wajahat
Apelles Fund, King’s College
John and Jennifer Crompton
Simon and Midge Palley