Behind Country Lines

While a pavilion might be missing at the Venice Biennale this year,its 55th edition has some representation from India

Dayanita Singh

She has been photographing India for decades and is the face of Indian photography in the global art circuit. Dayanita Singh is among the four non-German artists at the German pavilion. During the opening preview on May 30,she was at the venue,signing copies of her latest book File Room and gifting catalogues and scarves. At the Biennale,she is showing photographs from her 2001 work Mona,which chronicles the life of a eunuch. Singh documented Ahmeds life over a decade. Living near a New Delhi graveyard,Ahmed dreams of building a marriage hall. Ostracised by other eunuchs,she adopts a child who is taken away. Singh tells this story in a book Myself Mona Ahmed,where photographs are interspersed with Ahmeds words.

Prabhavathi Meppayil

She is one of the handful artists and the lone Indian artist who is part of Biennale director Massimiliano Gionis exhibition The Encyclopedic Palace. Spread over two sites,in the park called the Giardini and the Arsenale,this comprises contemporary works of art and artefacts. Coming from a family of goldsmiths,the Bangalore-based artist uses traditional Indian goldsmiths tools to embed copper wires with ritualistic precision on her paintings.

Samar Singh Jodha

This is his second consecutive outing at the Biennale. In 2011,he was here with a video presentation,but this time Samar Singh Jodha returns with a solo. Titled Outpost,the set of photographs question the implications of global consumerism and rapid advancements in technology. Jodha has documented discarded containers fashioned by migrant miners in the Northeast,who use them as tin roofs to protect their homes during rains. Adding irony to the presentation are protagonists who excavate precious minerals from earth to support the same mass culture.

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