Major artists from South Asia are gaining attention around the world for their work, but untold others remain undetected. This book presents three years of Aicon Contemporary’s efforts to fix this, showcasing modern works by exciting new artists from the subcontinent and the diaspora — often for the first time. In its pages readers will find prayer-granting spaceships, meditations on Gandhi’s life and works, and intricately decorated gas masks and hand grenades that draw upon traditional South Asian goldsmithing techniques. Here we see queer, South Asian, and diaspora experiences conveyed through graphic novels, comics, and emojis, hinting at the use of universal visual modes in order to give voices to those so often unheard. Shedding light on these works are curators and critics such as Sona Datta, Timothy Murray, Gayatri Sinha, Girish Shahane, and Keshav Malik.
The curated exhibits shown in this work challenge stigmas, reconceptualize important historical figures we thought we knew, explore the traumas of displacement, question notions of purity and perfection, and negotiate complex religious and sociopolitical systems within South Asia and abroad. In doing so, Aicon Contemporary continues to introduce talented artists to a global audience.
Publisher: Aicon Contemporary
Editor and Designer: Nicola Licari Rodriguez
Foreword and Afterword: Projjal Dutta
Publication Date: September 9, 2021
Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 in
Pages: 114
ISBN: 978-1-7377957-0-4
In Stock
$35.00 USD
