Curators Note : Jerusalem Biennale Precursor Show - Experiments with Truth

THE JERUSALEM BIENNALE 2019, “FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!”

PROJECT TITLE: “EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH”. CURATED BY: GARGI SETH

Jerusalem Biennale Theme Note:

“The Jerusalem Biennale 2019, For Heaven’s Sake!

The dynamic, sometimes challenging, process of seeking truth, even in mundane matters, is connected at its core to a tradition of dispute. It is a uniquely Jewish path which empowers humankind’s quest to repair the world, and along the way, perhaps even find transcendence.

The theme for the Jerusalem Biennale 2019 is LeShem Shamayim (For Heaven’s Sake!). The phrase ‘for the sake of heaven’ is most famously associated with the text above. It puts an emphasis on the motivation of an act rather than on the act itself, and connects it with, of all things, arguments and disagreements.

This is not surprising considering that the central body of Jewish knowledge is the Talmud, which is not a codified book of laws or philosophical tenets but is essentially a record of rabbinic legal disputes and discussions. In it, minority arguments are given equal prominence alongside the rulings of the majority upon which practical Jewish law is based.

Discourse and discord lie at the heart of Jewish creativity – not necessarily closure and conflict resolution. Therein lies the spirit of Judaism and its engagement with the world in all its complexity.

It is for this diverse dialogue—spoken in the multi-layered language of the visual arts—that the Jerusalem Biennale seeks to create a platform.”

Experiments with Truth Concept Note:

The man credited as one of the founding fathers of India as a nation state, Mahatma Gandhi, is also revered as a mahatma (high soul) for entirely apolitical reasons. Gandhi lived by the principles of truthfulness, temperance, ahimsa (non-violence in mind and body) and inclusivity. His early beliefs were founded on advait vedanta, Jainism, influences of Bhakti saints, and readings of Tolstoy, Ruskin and Thoreau. Though he referred to the Bhagavad Gita as his spiritual dictionary, he made comparative studies of the religious texts of other religions and advocated respect for all. Beyond the struggle for independence from British rule, he laboured for a consonant, mutually synergistic society in India for people of different castes and faiths.

India as a land too has always been a locus of diversity and coexistence; a melting pot of cultures over thousands of years. It is a seat of knowledge, philosophy and spirituality, the birth place of some of the major religions of the world, and several off-shoots thereof. A land where diverse thought processes and followers of different religions and sects assimilate into the cultural and spiritual mainstream, and evolve into a vibrant, wholesome whole.

Over the leap of generations, Gandhi’s ideals withstand the testimony of time, becoming even more relevant for the truth seekers of today, as they seek to reinvent a global society into one that courageously acknowledges our varied pasts and fosters an inclusive social fabric. In the year when India is celebrating 150th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, it is only appropriate that we rediscover his inspirational approach to inclusivity and pursuit of truth, specially within the context of religion and religiosity, as to my opinion, religion is man’s most elemental and eternal search for, and relationship with the ultimate truth.

Our project “Experiments with Truth”, aims to explore through the language of visual arts - this open minded, accepting and welcoming approach to experiments with the ultimate truth, with inclusivity as the foundation. I am curating the proposed exhibition to bring together a confluence of ideas and ideals with respect to the global society; assertions of roots and hopes, expressions of angst and joy - experiments with truth, within and without; expressed through the medium of contemporary Indian art.

Participating Artists: A selection of very accomplished Indian artists’ works is being curated for the prestigious Jerusalem Biennale 2019. These are artists who have at some point or another, actively explored and expressed their creativity in the field of religion, spirituality and philosophy – Satish Gujral, Asit Patnaik, Arpana Caur, Siddharth, Seema Kohli, Biman B Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, Rini Dhumal, Ambalika Chitkara, Neeraj Gupta, Avijit Roy, Niren Sengupta, Shruti Chandra, Kota Neelima, and Vasundhara Tewari.

Dates: The project has been selected for the prestigious Jerusalem Biennale 2019. The Biennale begins on 10th October 2019. Works must reach Jerusalem by 1st of September 2019.

A Precursor Show, wider in concept, will be showcased by Gargi Seth at Shridharani Gallery of Triveni Kala Sangam New Delhi, from July 12th to 21st 2019.