An artistic dive into the past

Installation view of The Hiyakhe Transfiguration by artist Ignasius Dicky Takndare. Pics courtesy/ Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai

With her background in art history and culture studies, Amsterdam-based independent curator Kerstin Winking calls herself a museum person. It's perhaps why she is back at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Byculla five years after her first visit in 2014. But this time as the curator of Mindful Circulations, an exhibition that engages the museum as a central site of knowledge that shapes societies. And for that, she has brought together artists from The Netherlands, Indonesia and India who, based on their personal stories, have created installations rooted in colonial history but which underlie global contemporary culture.

"In the past eight years, I have done a lot of research in contemporary art in the Netherlands and Indonesia, and later, India, and realised that there are some themes in the works of artists in the three countries that connect their art practices. This exhibition explores how colonial history still affects our lives today," Winking explains, as she takes a break from overseeing the installation of artworks for the exhibition. The connections she is referring to become clearer in the context of the fact that the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or VOC, often called a precursor to modern-day corporations) was active in India and Indonesia from the early 17th century. By 1800, The Dutch East Indies became a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia.

Installation view of Mangifera Indica by artist Rashmimala

Ignasius Dicky Takndare, for example, who hails from the conflict-ridden Papua province of Indonesia, incorporates a spirit effigy used in Papua to worship ancestors in his installation to direct attention to the exploitation of the area by Dutch and later, American corporations. Jithinlal NR, on the other hand, evokes folk tales from Kerala in his work, where the aim is to create an antidote to how anthropological photography portrays indigenous people. The artwork also highlights the impact of the hospitality industry on the indigenous communities of the state.

Kerstin Winking

Speaking of the parallels between present-day corporations with those of the colonial era, Winking says, "Minorities that can't defend themselves properly are still overpowered by corporations, which in turn, continue to exploit natural and human resources."

Till: July 14, 10 am t0 6 pm.
At: The Kamalnayan Bajaj Special Exhibitions Gallery, BDL Museum, Byculla East.
Call: 23731234

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