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The authors, Amrit and Rabindra K.D. Kaur Singh,
are well-known miniaturists, called The Twins.
They work at their Twin Studios in England.
Their work blends elements from Western and
Eastern aesthetics to create a unique genre
within British art practice, challenging
existing stereotypes in contemporary art and
exploring cultural, social and political issues.
All this is achieved within a highly decorative,
often witty and symbolic style, which has
universal appeal and transcends cultural
barriers. Their determined exploration of the
Indian miniature style and established practice
of working and exhibiting together – as well as
dressing identically – is a political statement
against the Eurocentric perspective of Modern
Art.
They continue to be invited to present academic
lectures on their work and have received wide
interest within the educational context – from
individual art students to University research
graduates – with one of their major pieces being
incorporated into the Open University syllabus.
Official artists-in-residence to the
Commonwealth Games, they have been commissioned
by Leeds City Art Gallery to produce a series in
response to a key painting in their collection,
which represents a Victorian piece of propaganda
on the Indian Mutiny.
images of Freedom
A visual narration of India’s history in the
first few tumultuous decades of the last
century, this is a compilation of 50 prints with
their corresponding textual references. It takes
a look at the popular visual documentation of
India’s journey through freedom struggle, to
independence and partition, and the years
immediately subsequent to it. At one level, the
collection testifies to the crucial role played
by what we call the “calendar art” in
disseminating the spirit of nationalism across
the country. It is conveyed here as a
two-pronged process: the first dealing with the
creation of a popular imagery for the masses to
identify with; and secondly, the gradual
perpetuation of these idioms – that haven’t lost
their connotation even till this day. |
