Evil Turn

The title of his exhibition is inspired by an eponymous 1930s gangster film,featuring James Cagney.

The artists on show include Gordon Cheung,Radhika Khimji,Prasad Raghavan,Iona Rozeal Brown,Sunil Padwal and Mithu Sen. Each has approached the idea in a provocative yet interesting manner. Padwal’s work invites you to step over the image of a burqa-clad woman,painted on the wooden floor of the gallery at the entrance. “I sourced the image of an Afghanistan girl by photographer Steve McCurry and placed it on the floor to create a sense of discomfort. Walking over her leads to the image slowly fading away,” says Padwal.

Khimji’s collage juxtaposes news reports of terror attacks with images of revolutionaries,severed bodies and weapons.

Cheung’s evocative pyrographs are created by blow-torching images into paper and wood. He has chosen the figures from Abu Ghraib —prisoners who were tortured and raped. He sears these into stacks of the Financial Times. The work is critical of the focus on the economy and trade in the face of American’s “war” with Iraq.

Rozeal Brown’s image is direct and chilling; it shows Saddam Hussein’s severed head lying at the feet of a triumphant George Bush who clutches his crotch with one hand while the other holds a jerrycan dripping with oil.

“The exhibition hopes to examine the role of the culture of violence that has bred generations of gangsters and gangster attitude,” says the curator.

The exhibition is on till January 23. Contact: 46130637