Published in conjunction with 'Karkhana: A Contemporary Collaboration', an exhibition organized by the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield from August 2005 to March 2006 and later travelled to the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and the Asia Society and Museum, New York. At the core of the exhibition is a series of twelve paintings, each composed of imagery laid down by six Pakistani artists in succession without a predetermined plan for its content or structure. The 'Karkhana' project was inspired in part by the cooperative nature of miniature painting in South Asia's pre-modern courts. It was first conceived by Muhammad Imran Qureshi, who contacted the other artists, all alumni of the miniature painting department at the National College of Arts in Lahore, but now living in different cities around the world. To expose the underlying collaborative processes the exhibition and this catalogue are accompanied by visual resources representing the paintings' multiple layers. Individual works by each of the artists are also included in the exhibition.
The multi-faceted nature of the project is reflected in the six essays offered – from the possibilities of collaborative practice and political resistance, the reinvention of a "tradition", the expression of diasporic identity to broader questions about globalization and political marginalization. Artists' biographies and list of exhibited works included.
Onsite
English
miniature painting,  gouache painting,  mixed media,  diaspora,  group exhibition,  collective practice
2005
112
1888332263
2
catalogue
Introduction - Hammad NASAR, Anna J. SLOAN, Jessica HOUGH
Painting Workshops in Mughal India - John SEYLLER
In the Spirit of Improvisation - Jessica HOUGH
Karkhana: Revival or Re-invention? - Virginia WHILES
Postcards to Empire: The Politics of Resistance in the Karkhana Project - Hammad NASAR, Anna J. SLOAN
Journey's End: The Making of Karkhana - Salima HASHMI
Innovations to a Timeless Practice: Materials and Techniques of the Karkhana Artists - Qamar ADAMJEE, Sandhya JAIN
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