Young Subcontinent, one of the segments of the
Visual Arts discipline at Serendipity Arts Festival 2017
(SAF17), has been hogging quite the limelight, thanks
to the artworks on display that depict hard-hitting,
life-altering stories from South Asian countries. Young
Subcontinent is a long term curatorial project of
bringing together the different countries of South
Asia – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and
Afghanistan, in dialogue with each other through the
method of bringing artistes and artworks together. As per
common knowledge, despite sharing common myths,
geographies, history, food habits and beliefs, the South
Asian countries are still in conflict with each other today,
causing political tension and economic unrest. The
curatorial team believes that Young Subcontinent is a
way of reinvestigating the root cause of this conflict. The
project has been curated by Riyas Komu.
Sheelasha Rajbhandari, an artiste from Nepal has
on display her artwork
that depicts the
pendulum effect that
India and China are
influencing over the
land-locked country,
Nepal. Sheelasha says,
“India and China are the
only neighbours that
we have. I’m looking at
the relationship of the
two countries through
history, trade routes and
economic and political
relationships.” Sheelasha
admits that the power,
politics and policies of
the two countries affect
Nepal directly and this affects its citizens on a regular
basis. She adds, “Nepal used to be the centre of trade
routes many centuries ago. It connected Tibet
with India. But current economic policies
have affected Nepal a lot. In the span of 70
years after India got independence and Tibet
was taken over by China, a lot of things have
changed.” Although Nepal has been more
politically and socially aligned with India and
more than 80% of the trade is with India,
in the recent times China has emerged as
an alternative for Nepal. This development
has been a by-product of the India-Nepal
blockade in 2015 where basic supplies like
medicine and oxygen were blocked, and
Nepal signed a trade treaty with China. Also,
the relationship with China has
brought in hope but anxiety as
well. Courtesy, the mass produced
industrial materials that have
flooded the markets in Nepal
by trampling over indigenous
traditions. Another artiste, Aditi
Shankar Sharma’s art project is
a photo narrative that depicts
the effect of the Narmada Valley
Development Project on the
people around River Narmada. In
total, 21 artistes from South Asian
countries have exhibit their works
at Young Subcontinent.
Apart from acknowledging
the issues that are plaguing the
relationships between these
countries, Young Subcontinent
is also a platform for young
emerging artistes from South Asia
to present their works at SAF17.
Anuj Daga, Assistant Curator
of Young Subcontinent, says, “A
lot of these smaller countries do not have adequate
infrastructure and patronage to execute their art. The
idea, through SAF17, is to offer them support so that
they can come and have an exchange of ideas, initiate
dialogue which will help release the cultural tension that
exists between the countries.”
The idea seems to be working, as New-Delhi
based art gallery, Exhibit320 that is the gallery partner
with SAF17 for Young Subcontinent is trying to spread
the word and promote the works. Priyanka Bahal of
Exhiit320 says, “We have liked a couple of artistes and
we would like to represent some of them in future. We
are trying to promote and get these works to reach our
clients and art collectors associated with us, spread
across the globe.”
