***  Haus der Kulturen der Welt: Forum1 Archive  ***
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   [Date]: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 12:10:16 +0100
   [From]: "Iris F. Mahnke" <mahnke@uni-hamburg.de>
     [To]: Cultural Exchange via Internet <forum1@hkw.kbx.de>
[Subject]: Exhibition project "Crown Jewels"

Hi everybody,

I would like to announce the opening of our exhibition "Crown Jewels" in
Hamburg Germany.

Abstract from the press release:


"Crown Jewels - Contemporary British Asian Artists"

Hamburg Kampnagel [k3], 12.11.-8.1.2000
Berlin, NGBK 5.2.-12.3.2000

The exhibition introduces in Germany eight British Asian artists living and
working in London. Sutapa Biswas, Chila Kumari Burman, Mohini Chandra,
Sunil Gupta, Addela Khan, Shaheen Merali,  Samena Rana and shez 360
All artists are descendants from families of the former Crown-colony India,
referred to as "The Jewel in the Crown"

In the capital of the former British empire where cultures and ethnicity,
co-exist, converge and clash, young British Asian artist are advancing,
after struggling for exhibition opportunities in the eighties, to become
the protagonists of the art scene at the brink of the millennium. Today
they can play with and control the expectations of the spectator. They are
looking for actuality, use the newest media and cleverly utilise the public
longing for modern transcultural identity. 

Shaheen Merali and Sunil Gupta both address issues of racial conflicts,
being a todays problem of European societies. Chila Kumari Burman holds the
role of a mediator between the older artists who came as adults to England
and those of the "second generation" who grew up there She curated shows
like Merali and Gupta, and, through her contribution she opened up the
opportunity for Asian female artists to exhibit at all. Her vibrant colour
laser copies appear to relate to Pop Art and Bollywood films. Sutapa
Biswas, Samena Rana and Mohini Chandra are mixing in their work European
image traditions, like the use of light, combined with cultural stereotypes
such as illustrations of exotic, oriental images. The calculated employment
of these images irritates and evokes associations of "Indian fantasies" but
is actually seeking a new aesthetic which reflects the European longing for
foreign "dream lands". Addela Khan uses her black and white photo-montages
to reflect upon the role and the representation of the Islamic woman in
religious and secular societies. shez 360 makes use of the methods of
commerce and advertisement and shows at the same time how advertising
employs and exploits the exotic impressions of foreign cultures.

For the first time in European art history India is not only a source of
inspiration for European art. Now artist of the Indian Subcontinent
themselves influence and change decisively contemporary art. Their subject
is the use, representation and questioning of cultural practices from East
to West. Their work expresses their engagement with diverse cultures but
also with world-wide tendencies towards global westernization. A new art is
developing which enriches the international art scene, and, which is in
itself an expression of a changing culture in postcolonial Europe.

"Crown Jewels" is curated by the art historian Iris Mahnke and the gallery
owner Angelika Osterwalder with financial support of the Hamburg's Arts
Council and The British Council.
A forty pages colour catalogue in English and German with an essay on
"Contemporary Art from London" by Iris Mahnke accompanies the show. It is
available from D=F6lling und Galitz Verlag, Hamburg, ISSN: 3-933374-62-6
(Ehrenbergstra=DFe 62, 22767 Hamburg, e-mail: Pdoelling@aol.com)


Info: Iris Mahnke, mahnke@uni-hamburg.de, Tel.: 0049-30-5591956

http://www.britcoun.de/d/arts/pubs/vibes99/vibes2.htm
http://www.kampnagel.de/programm/produktionen/03tra.html


From 5th February until 12th March 2000 the show will be in Berlin at the
Neue Gesellschaft f=FCr Bildende Kunst, NGBK.

If anybody knows of other interested venues, please let me know.
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Iris F. Mahnke
Pfarrstr. 107
D - 10317 Berlin