Land That Lives Through Us

The exhibit explores the dynamic interplay between landscapes and human experiences, presenting these settings as vital elements in our narratives. Drawing inspiration from contemporary miniatures, we aim to highlight landscapes dual role as reflections of our emotions and as sites where human experiences unfold. In traditional miniature paintings, landscapes are often relegated to the background, with focus shifting to mythological or courtly figures. Through this exhibit, we bring landscapes to center stage, reimagining how we perceive them and emphasising their significance in our stories. In this exploration, we delve into the tension between domestic and industrial spaces and capture the movement and energy within landscapes, exploring verticality and dynamism. This perspective not only celebrates the beauty of these settings but also confronts the realities of transformation and disruption that permeate our environments. Pressing socio-political issues, such as climate change and displacement, are addressed, illustrating how human actions leave lasting imprints on the land. These altered terrains become sites of storytelling, where migration, resilience, and history converge. Artists weave personal stories with broader narratives, connecting individual experiences to collective memory. Thereby, inviting introspection and dialogue, about how landscapes shape the human condition and how we, in turn, influence them. Each artist offers a distinctive response to this exploration, expanding the conversation in compelling ways. Anahita Alavi breathes new life into Persian miniatures, celebrating the timeless beauty of nature and its spiritual resonance. Gopa Trivedi addresses social and individual anxieties by creating subversive idioms using seemingly insignificant spaces or objects. Jayant Silva, in collaboration with Ravi Kumawat presents a circle of six seasons taken from selected verses of Kalidasa's Ritusamhara. Manjot Kaur works are intimate worlds encompassing the anthropology of wonder and awe, proposing narratives that imagine a multi-species future. Ramsha Haider, inspired by a sufi poem "Conference of the Birds" explores the possibilities of journey within and a voyage of self-discovery. Simran Kaur Panesar explores the interplay of light and darkness, reimagining traditional symbols and celebrating cultural heritage through vivid depictions of nature and identity. Sujay Sanan inverts the narrative, bringing the urgency of climaterelated issues concerning our landscapes to the forefront. Yasmin Hayat draws from Middle Eastern cosmography, using the symbolic bull and whale to represent the balance between agriculture, the sea, and human life. Land That Lives Through Us encompasses the sublime, the terrible, the beautiful, and the spiritual. 

- This exhibition is a continued exploration of contemporary miniature art, forming part of the annual Off-Margins Editions.