'Exhibition' curated by Roobina Karode and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.

Our Time for a Future Caring primarily brings together the work of eight artists, from different generations, who have reflected on the Gandhian legacy of decolonization.

National pavilions are legitimized by a set of dead-end propositions. The first is that of nationhood itself, and then, trickier still, the promise of a comprehensive representation of the discourse of the nation state in question. The only logical recourse, as many have taken in the 58th Venice Biennale (as well as in editions previous), is to deconstruct the premise of the nation state. To do so requires a leap of faith, because to acknowledge the death of the nation state, as Rana Dasgupta wrote for The Guardian last year, “is to acknowledge the end of politics.”

This end of politics, or that of political discourse as we know it, is often handled as a purposeful new approach to old debates. This is especially true of nation states that have a rare presence at the Biennale.

The theme takes Gandhi to be its central protagonist, as dictated by the Indian Ministry of Culture,1  in light of 2019 being 150 years since his birth. As such, “two acts run simultaneously through the works exhibited at the pavilion,” Karode told Hyperallergic, “the first, is one of resistance, and the second, an act of recuperation, which is really the need of our time.”

...

 
  • 1. Our time for a future caring. The Indian Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition revisits, through diverse art forms, the indelible memory of Mahatma Gandhi, his philosophical ideas, and the many facets of Gandhi that continue to inspire, provoke, and challenge the public, intellectuals and artists alike. Our Time for a Future Caring is both a call for attentiveness and an invocation to shared futures. The exhibition weaves together artworks that either emphasise a historical moment, in direct collaboration or association with Gandhi, or stage imaginary encounters that resonate contemporary critical thinking, creating an opportunity for a renewed search and investigation into received notions of agency, action, and freedom. The exhibition elucidates the premise that Gandhi’s presence is far from being fixed in time and space. His ideals are difficult to ignore in an increasingly violent and intolerant world.

    Source: Official exhibition brouchure