Venice Biennale: Celebrating India's Art in all its Hues

DECCAN HERALD
By Subhra Mazumdar

By Zarina Hashmi

ITALY - The 116-year-old Venice Biennale, regarded as the ‘Olympics’ of art viewing, will witness the opening of its 54th meet on June 4, 2011, with Indian participation making a significant entry. The India Pavilion has been organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, the country’s National Academy of Art, and this step makes India’s presence at Venice a historic milestone. Zarina Hashmi, the print maker and mixed media artist, and one among the chosen foursome, is Aligarh-born and now lives and works in New York. Her works, says Hoskote, is a close reminder of the trauma of the Partition in 1947, to which in recent years has come about the experience of diasporic living, leading to a novel realisation that is tinged with mysticism and spiritual flavour. Her selected works at Venice are titled: ‘Home is Forgotten Place’, ‘Noor’, and ‘Blinding Light’. [link]