E x h i b i t i o n H i s t o r y
Bagh-e Hind
Institute of Art & Olfaction, Los Angeles, USA
15 July - 12 August 2022
Curators' Note:
In a sense, bringing Bagh-e Hind to a physical space for the first time represented a reversal of our original curatorial process. When creating the online exhibition between June to September 2021, we faced the challenge of compellingly communicating smell and taste and generally centering material culture in an essentially immaterial medium. At the same time, we had unlimited space – in words, images, and sounds our virtual garden could grow with our ideas in any direction we desired.
Now, with a specific real-life location at hand, we are able to actually bring scents, plants, and material objects directly to our audience. However, we also had to work with a specific space that is very much finite and harder to manipulate than a virtual one, as well as the logistic challenges of preparing an installation in Los Angeles between Pune and Boston.
We began by developing numerous ideas for different elements through an ongoing exchange of notes and sketches, expanding or paring down as needed, before turning to the selection, development, and production of the material objects to be displayed. Through January to June 2022, we developed visual, olfactory, and literary connections across media, from flowers blooming in glass to the sparks of painted Mughal fireworks illuminating bars of soap redolent with the sharp smell of real pyrotechnics and Urdu verses blooming across various surfaces and materials.
Scroll through the gallery below to view the exhibition:
Image courtesy: Institute for Art and Olfaction (unless stated otherwise)
Compounded by independent artist and perfumer, Miss Layla, based on the original notes and ingredients between the curators, Bharti and Nicolas
Image courtesy: Institute for Art and Olfaction (unless stated otherwise)
Beyond the Page: South Asian Miniature Painting and Britain, 1600 to Now
MK Gallery, Milton Keynes
The Box, Plymouth, UK
17 February - 2 June 2024
Incense from our five chapters represented Bagh-e Hind on display in this exhibition curated by Hammad Nasar and Anthony Spira with advice from Emily Hannam and is accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue. Read more about our approach here.
Featuring over 180 works by artists from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Netherlands, UK and USA, Beyond the Page tells the dynamic story of contemporary art’s engagement with the ancient tradition of South Asian miniature painting. With a long history stretching back to the 9th Century, South Asian miniatures are exquisite, small-scale paintings of exceptional beauty and technical skill which depict grand narratives from sacred and secular texts, illustrating tales of gods and goddesses, rulers, romances, mythology, and political intrigue.
Heavy in your arms
Kolkata Centre for Creativity
Kolkata, India
12 December 2023 - 3 January 2024
The Narcissus chapter of Bagh-e Hind was displayed in this exhibition curated by Kallol Datta. The paintings, the Urdu poetry, the incense, and the botanical aspects took shape within this broader curation that considered the politics of queer existence. An extravagant floral installation of lotus, lotus buds, seeds and leaves by Kunal Mandal was commissioned as part of the dynamic display. Nicolas and Bharti also delivered a virtual talk to a highly engaged audience present in the physical space on 22nd December 2023. A brief catalogue (pictured) accompanies this exhibition. Read more here.
Tomorrow isn't promised
11 Temple Road, Lahore
12 December - 3 January 2024
The Smoke chapter of Bagh-e Hind was displayed in this exhibition curated by Fatma Shah. This chapter illustrates most clearly of all the sections of Bagh-e Hind the way motifs and tropes were translated across different contexts, adapted to different styles, and used to represent different events and figures, from Shab-i Barat to Diwali and from Muslim courtiers to Hindu deities. In addition, its verses underscore the way in which the floral and pyrotechnic were linked in early modern South Asian thought, not only by way of poetic comparisons between sparks and flower buds but through a terminology of fireworks that describes sparklers as "flower showers" and "hand flowers".
A brief catalogue (pictured) accompanies this exhibition. Nicolas and Bharti were in conversation with Fatma via Instagram Live on 12th October 2024. A part of this discussion can be viewed here. Images of the installation are courtesy of Fatma Shah, and photos of the saffron crocus flowers are from Nicolas. Read more here.