Indian and Pakistani artists come together to dissolve 'Sarhad - The Border' in Melbourne

Indian and Pakistani artists Anindita Banerjee and Wardah Alam have come together for an exhibition called Sarhad - The Border in Melbourne. The duo has also organised a panel discussion parallel to the exhibition to unpack the idea of the existence/non-existence of the India – Pakistan Border in the South-Asian diaspora in Australia and the role of contemporary arts in this context.

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A unique art exhibition by Indian and Pakistani artists - Anindita Banerjee and Wardah Alam, is underway in Melbourne.

The exhibition called Sarhad - The Border is a collaborative, contemporary art enquiry of two immigrant artists living in a diaspora where ‘The Border’ as they have known it, abruptly vanishes.

"It is activated by their personal desire to disentangle the complex relationship between India and Pakistan, inherited from the colonial era and unapologetically abused by socio-political agendas," the exhibition program states.

What is it that makes us different? Source: Supplied

The border between India and Pakistan has existed for more than 70 years.

“This exhibition culminates from a 15 months’ journey of conversations. I met Anindita at RMIT where we talked about our work and art and being part of the diaspora here.

“I really liked her ideas. She inspired me and I really wanted to work with her. We started our discussions and worked together for 15 months and created this exhibition,” Wardah told SBS Hindi.

The exhibition is a result of collaboration between these two artists and is in form of an installation and video projects.

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Anindita shared an interesting anecdote of her time in the US.

“We use to frequent a biryani shop in the US where I lived. I use to frequent it a lot but realised it much later that it was a Pakistani restaurant.

“It never felt different from our culture,” Anindita says.

Wardah, who is of Pakistani-origin, adds, “I have only had good experiences with the Indian community here in Australia. It has been great knowing them.”

The duo has also organised a panel discussion parallel to the exhibition to unpack the idea of the existence/non-existence of the India – Pakistan Border in the South-Asian diaspora in Australia and the role of contemporary arts in this context.

Exhibition Details:

Exhibition Dates: 4th August to 25th August

Venue: Kings Artist-Run, 171 King Street, Level 1, Melbourne, Victoria

Panel Discussion:

Date and Time: 11th August 2018 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Venue: Kings Artist-Run, 171 King Street, Level 1, Melbourne, Victoria

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