Exploring Time Through Contemporary South Asian Art: Notations On Time Exhibition

“Notations on Time” is a group exhibition curated by Sandhini Poddar and Sabih Ahmed, showcasing the works of 20 contemporary artists from South Asia and its diaspora. This exhibition delves into the philosophical and political dimensions of time, exploring art in notational, experimental, and fragmentary forms. It highlights the entanglements between the past, present, and future, standing apart from Western notions of linearity, progress, and capitalist dominance.

The exhibition features a veritable laboratory of time, exploring various ontological systems that reveal how artists from this region and its diaspora think about aesthetics, existence, remembrance, and futurity. The exhibition poses questions such as “What happens when residues from the past are reincarnated into the future? Where does the jurisdiction of the present end? What is the future of the past?”

The exhibition includes works by renowned artists such as Sheba Chhachhi, Dayanita Singh, Amar Kanwar, and Lala Rukh, to name a few. These artworks have been loaned from prestigious private collections such as the Ishara Art Foundation, the Prabhakar Collection, and the private collections of Taimur Hassan, Lekha and Anupam Poddar, and Shweta and Vikram Puri.

The exhibition explores the many ways in which we “read” time, including on bodies, skins, machines, rivers, landscapes, and stars. It also delves into wormholes in cosmic space, underground systems, site-readings from archaeological and evidentiary fieldwork, myths, folklore, storytelling, science fiction, mixed realities, and long-dead stars viewed through powerful telescopes.

“Notations on Time” has been supported by Taimur Hassan and received logistical support from Jhaveri Contemporary (Mumbai), Lisson Gallery (London), and Saskia Fernando Gallery (Colombo). It offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience the rich and diverse perspectives on time that exist in South Asia and its diaspora.

Overall, this groundbreaking exhibition offers a thought-provoking and visually stunning exploration of time through contemporary South Asian art, which is sure to captivate and inspire visitors from all over the world.