Indian Highway is the second chapter in our focus on the arts of three major cultural regions, China, India and the Middle East, reflecting a shift from Western to emerging global economies, conceived and organised by the Serpentine Gallery and Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.
Following the remarkable and rapid economic, social and cultural developments in India in recent years, Indian Highway is a timely presentation of the pioneering work being made in India today, embracing art, architecture, film, literature and dance. The culmination of extensive research over a lengthy period, Indian Highway is a snapshot of a vibrant generation of artists working across a range of media, from painting, photography and sculpture to installation and Internet-based art and video. It features those who have already made an impact on international art juxtaposed with emerging practitioners.
Some artworks in the exhibition have been selected for their connection to the theme of Indian Highway, reflecting the importance of the road in migration and movement and the link between rural and urban communities. Other works make reference to technology and the ‘information superhighway’, which has been central to India’s economic boom. A common thread throughout is the way in which these artists demonstrate an active political and social engagement, examining complex issues in an Indian society undergoing transition, which include environmentalism, religious sectarianism, globalisation, gender, sexuality and class.
Indian Highway pioneers a radical model of curating, in which curators will be invited to develop a ‘show within a show’ inside the exhibition. At the Serpentine, Delhi-based multi-media artists Raqs Media Collective have invited documentary film-makers to participate. This curatorial practice will be developed on the exhibition’s tour, starting at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, with a section curated by the artist Bose Krishnamachari. At each subsequent international venue, over the next four years, a different Indian artist or group will invite their contemporaries to exhibit, bringing views of Indian art from the inside and allowing the exhibition to grow and develop in new and unexpected ways.