however the image enters, its force remains
Showcasing the 10 recipients of the Emerging Artists Award 2022 (EAA+)
however the image enters
its force remains
An exhibition showcasing the 10 recipients
of the Emerging Artists Award 2022
3 July - 3 August 2024
10 am - 6 pm | Mon - Sat
at Vadehra Art Gallery,
D 53 Defence Colony, New Delhi
Participating artists: Ankan Dutta, M Thamshangpha, Madhukar Mucharla, Madhurjya Dey, Malik Irtiza, Pahul Singh, Priyanka D’Souza, Sandra Thomas, Surajit Mudi, zeropowercut.
Each year, FICA’s annual showcase is an opportunity for us to bring together stellar practices supported by our grants, accompanied by active forms of dialogue and sharing. This July, we were thrilled present the inaugural cohort of our 10 EAA+ grantees, bringing together bodies of work spanning a range of mediums, processes and material explorations.
Within the aegis of this show, we are drawn to the intersections produced by and within the image—unlimited and expansive in its scope, interpretation, translation and frame—tending towards the possibilities of many worlds. A culmination of multi-faceted intertwinings, the exhibition presents reflections on space and space-making, on participation and participatory modes of being, reflecting on how so much of what is produced within contemporary art practice is driven by acts of witnessing, to proximities and precarities in the face of elongated uncertainty. It thinks with what it means to enter into conversation, and to stay with its shifting tenor. It asks how we read the rewordings and refusals made present, and how do we think of what propels us, our agencies, the images we make, and the force of intuition in making.
Taking from Afterimages, a poem by Audre Lorde that poignantly and powerfully explores how memories linger and shape our understanding of the world, the exhibition and its extended propositions lean towards asking: What is this moment of making defined by? What does it constitute? How do we gather in and as we make, alongside our processes and works, in a way that holds on to the depths of hope, the depths of desire?
The EAA+ platform has been made possible in collaboration with the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation. We also thank our Residency Partner Arthshila Art Studios, Siwan. We are grateful for the support of Vadehra Art Gallery towards the making of this exhibition.
To access the press release, click here.
To read the full curatorial note, click here.
A look back at our programmes
The Exhibition Walkthrough
After a week of intensive working on at the exhibition site, the walkthrough with nine of the ten participating artists created a moment of sharing and reflection around the processes and works on display. The enthusiastic audience actively engaged with each artist and their works and also questioned the ways they were located within the larger configuration of the exhibition. It was a productive opportunity to immerse ourselves in the vibrant atmosphere of artistic exchange.
Reading as Event #1 and #2
with Pahul Singh
Pahul Singh's workshops encouraged participants to engage with reading in novel ways. Participants created event scores, re-imagining the act of reading a text. These event scores were then exchanged and performed, merging performance and reading in a multisensory experience. The dynamic between reading and the body was further explored through a playful activity of making papier-mâché sculptures, led by artist Sandra Thomas. This workshop fostered a space for collective exploration of everyday performance and the relationship between language and the body.
Process / Perform
with Surajit Mudi
Surajit Mudi's workshop focused on 19th-century photographic methods. Participants gained insight into the intricacies of analog photography while engaging with readings from Siddhartha Ghosh's book, "Bangalir Photography Charcha," narrated by the artist and Susanta Mandal. This image-making process is slow in terms of the time it takes for the image to emerge but involves fast and precise steps. Participants were invited to explore the artist's mobile darkroom, witnessing the method of creating images and understanding the history and intricacies of the medium.
A month-long activation of the photo studio
A series of workshops, photo walks, and dialogues
with Surajit Mudi
As part of FICA’s ongoing exhibition at Vadehra Art Gallery, Surajit Mudi designed and reformulated an excerpt of his travelling darkroom—a studio space that he intends to activate with conversations and ways of co-learning around slow image-making.
Through the month, he led a series of workshops called 'Darkroom Dialogues' to further open up his studio to participants interested in exploring analog processes and darkroom processes. The sessions offered a unique and hands-on photographic experience with pinhole cameras and developing photographs. This creative approach encouraged attendees to see everyday items in new ways and sparked their curiosity about the possibilities of photography. We also had the wonderful experience of hosting a group from the Simurgh Centre, who spent the day sharing their memories of kamra-e-faoree (Afghan box camera) as well as making their own pinhole cameras.
Surajit also explored Delhi through his camera with collective photo walks. Photowalks were held at the Mayur Vihar weekly market in collaboration with StudioA68, and at Bhogal in collaboration with Jangpura Studio. In both sessions, a lot of interesting discussions took place among young practitioners around audience engagement, place making, and the shared space of photo-making as a site of conversation.
Film Screenings
with Arbab Ahmed and Nausheen Khan
We were excited to screen two films by Arbab Ahmad (Insides and Outsides) and Nausheen Khan (Land of My Dreams), followed by a discussion with the filmmakers. The conversations looked at what it means to witness and receive the unravelings of identity in the contemporary political climate, thinking with the exigencies of the medium and what it allows.