WHAT

Pakistan-born, Mumbai-based Nalini Malani works at the intersection of film, video, installation, painting, and performance. She is internationally renowned for her reverse paintings and immersive multimedia installations which often combine personal narrative with motifs from folklore, classical literature, and mythology to reflect on the collective trauma of the disenfranchised. Three major artworks are featured: ‘Utopia’ (1969–1976), ‘Remembering Mad Meg’ (2007–2019), and ‘Can You Hear Me’ (2018–2020). The showcase chronicles the evolution of the artist’s practice over the past fifty years as she embraced new technologies and ways of working.

WHY

This is a must-see for all fans of video art. Malani’s animations and installations, as well as her paintings and performances, feature imagery that feels both personal and universal, and address the issues of the effects of war, violence, and the repression of women. The exhibition highlights the artist’s distinctive methods of storytelling, which have the power to transcend the traumas of national divisions and address collective issues of social injustice.