Urban Myths & Modern FablesHamra Abbas (Pakistan/Germany), Khadim Ali (Pakistan), Henna Nadeem (UK), Hitesh Natalwala (Australia), Tazeen Qayyum (Canada), Nusra Qureshi (Australia), Sabeen Raja (Pakistan/USA), Naeem Rana (Australia), Amin Rehman (Canada), Sangeeta Sandrasegar (Australia), Alia Toor (Canada).
UTS Gallery, Ultimo
until 26 October
Left: Alia Toor 99 names of Amman 2004. Dust masks with cotton embroidery. Courtesy of the artist and UTS Gallery Sydney.
This exhibition of new work, curated by now Toronto-based Haema Sivanesan, features work by artists "of Indian and Pakistani background, working in Australia and the international diaspora" according to the press release. It's a fine show, and reinforces LF's perception, from travel on the Indian subcontinent, that an entirely different visual sensibility pervades contemporary art from that part of the world. The frequent appearence of 'miniatures' is a manifestation with obvious cultural origins, but there is a delicacy and restraint in much of this work that is not a common feature of Australian and much Western art, which often goes for the jugular in terms of size and conceptual ambitions. LF's standout's are Sangeeta Sandrasegar's delicate two-part installation Untitled (The Shadow of Murder Lay Upon her Sleep), Alia Toor's embroided dust mask installation, 99 names of Amman (pictured) and Tazeen Qayyum's series of 'specimen boxes' Test on a Small Area before Use .
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