Scratch Beneath The Surface

Art often broadens our perspective toward economic, socio-political, and cultural processes, and shapes and expands our understanding of reality. The exhibition Scratch Beneath the Surface is rooted in art’ capability to effect social change and creates a space for voices from the margins to take centre stage. The exhibition presents works by Anshu Singh, Birender Kumar Yadav, Richa Arya, and Thamshangpha Maku.
At once poignant and assertive, the works amplify the voices of marginal communities to which the artists belong and foreground their deliberations with issues of identity, agency, belonging, and the nature of labour. Anshu’s and Richa’s works examine the gendered division and valuation of labour, where domestic craft practices like embroidery, sewing, and beadwork become a carrier of expression against patriarchy and its operations. The works in the exhibition also present varied understandings of the relationship between the centre and the margin. Thamshangpha’s seemingly tranquil landscapes depict the brewing tensions between tribes and the mainland as the centre. While everyday tools within Birender’s works act as portraits of labouring castes and classes, embodying their conditions and experiences.
Even though grounded in specific contexts, the works carry echoes of global struggles and
resistances, and strive to evaluate normative social conditions and behaviours. Scratch
Beneath the Surface not only foregrounds overlooked yet concurrent realities that are crucial
to reflect and act upon, but also kindles an introspection at a personal, local, and global
level to realise a world where—human rights are upheld and sustained, social and economic security is shared by all, and differences in practices and perspectives are respected and appreciated.