Shanghai Biennale from Nov 12, to feature 9 artists from India

The 11th Shanghai Biennale will begin from November 12 and will be a conversation that travels from the atelier of a Mughal miniaturist to Ritwik Ghatak's studio to the spirit of questioning in Chinese Taoist philosophy before taking a detour into the writing of a Chinese science fiction writer like Cixin Liu.
According to the curator - the Delhi-based artist group Raqs Media Collective, the biennale to be held in a former power station is anchored in a continuing dialogue between some of the best minds in India and China.
Xiang Liping, project manager of the biennale as well as the head of exhibition department of Power Station of Art, says the curator's plan for the event include: thematic exhibition with focus on the artists and curators, "51 Personae" that explores possibilities of everyday life, as well as "Theory opera" that goes way into the depth of thinking.

"Those different angles form their art expression 'argument, counter-argument, and stories' perfectly. If the artworks in thematic exhibition form the 'argument' that focus on the nature of art, then '51 Personae' could be the 'counter-argument' that relates art with life.
The 'theory opera' works between theory and action, focus on the social life in aesthetic, philosophical and literary level, thus could be seen as 'stories'. The three forms an interesting triangle for us," Xiang told PTI.
Whether they are Desire Machine Collective, Navjot Altaf, V Vinu, Gagandeep Singh, Surabhi Sharma and Tejaswini Nilanjana, Moinak Biswas, Robin Mondal or Vishal Dar, each artist and artist collective represents an artistic position that is thoughtful and incisive.

Two young curators - Sabih Ahmed and Srajana Kaikini - will also present their projects at the biennale called 'Why Not Ask Again'.

"As curators, we are interested in the sharpest and most acute kind of work happening internationally. We believe that a lot of the kind of work we are interested in is unfolding, say, by the bank of the Brahmaputra in Guwahati, but then, it is also happening under the shadow of a volcano in Guatemala City, or overlooking a 'separation wall' in Ramallah, or under a bridge in Lagos, or next to a Hutong in Beijing," the curator says.

"Our curatorial vision is anchored in a long conversation between the cultures that have been shaped across and around the Himalayas. This is where India and China meet. We see this frontier and intersection between many ancient cultures as a zone of possibilities," it says.
One of the key references for the curatorial concept is Ghatak's Bengali film "Jukti, Takko aar Goppo".
The biennale, which will be until March 12, 2017, will have a main thematic exhibition featuring over 90 artists and artist groups, in addition to other sections extending into the city, bringing a diversity of contemporary art displays to Shanghai audience.

According Raqs Media Collective, the biennale celebrates the work that contemporary art does when it becomes a generator of curiosity, of imaginative thinking, of pushing the frontiers of what can be imagined and thought.
"Since the exhibition takes place in a former power station, we are working with the understanding that art is a turbine - a means to energise life with the electricity of questions," it says.
The facility that houses PSA was renovated from a former power plant, whose brute style of industrial architecture provides a rich source of inspiration for artists and enables diverse creative possibilities.