Urban Myths & Modern Fables

25 September - 26 October

Urban Myths & Modern Fables is an exhibition of new work in contemporary art by artists of Indian and Pakistani background, working in Australia and the international diaspora. Drawing on the notion of myth, a perpetuating narrative featuring heroic or supernatural characters and events, or the idea of a fable, an aphoristic or instructive story, these artists employ fictive strategies to comment on the contemporary world.

Working with conceptual techniques of metaphor, quotation, visual puns and so on, the works in this exhibition challenge master narratives informing perceptions of culture. The work of these artists speaks of culture as operating between the past and the present, the real and the imagined, as an ongoing process of myth-making and story-telling.

Curated by Haema Sivanesan

Participating artists:
Hamra 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).

Image: Alia Toor 99 names of Amman, 2004. Dust masks with cotton embroidery. Courtesy of the artist.