Curatorial Note:
“An individual has so many different identities – personal, linguistic, religious, state, gender, geographical… and so much more! These identities can be conduits of communication, bonds and unity. They can also be cause for differences, discrimination, oppression and hatred. These can lead to isolation, self-obsession and conceit. Arrogance linked with self-interest, power and authority lead to dire consequences. Politics of identity can have an ugly face.
The 21st century has seen an information and communication revolution that has connected people, ideas and cultures in an unprecedented manner. Globalization has given rise to a new concept of the individual. Our psyche and politics has been caught up in an endless vortex. An individual today is smart, bright, conscious and self-reliant. An individual is divided, intolerant, self-centered and envious. On one hand there is an explosion of a multitude of identities. On the other, the versatility of identities is being Desperately erased.
These waves of contradictions capture the minds and imaginations of today’s young artists. This is manifest in their works of art. Their work speaks of the times, in form and creative content. Social and cultural exchanges through rapid communication technology have given their artistic expression components of innovative media, a fusion of media, technology and experimentation. The ebb and flow from home and abroad, from the individual to the community, from singular to versatile culture has been woven into their creativity. They traverse in the expanding world of art within the country and in the outside world. Consciously or subconsciously, all this has left a mark, an impact and a reflection of the work of the young artists. The attack on Holey Artisan Café has given impetus to a closer scrutiny of the times. This group of young artists wants to observe and assess the surrounding a bit differently through a variety of artistic expression. And this is our visual art exhibition ‘Self/Identity’. “
Note from: Wakilur Rahman and Kehkasha Sabah, Curator