MA Degree Show

MA (Hons.) Visual Art Degree show, National College of Arts, Lahore | 2011

INSTITUTIONAL CRITIQUE

The work in progress deals with the role of art institutions, galleries, collectors and the art critics in the making and exhibiting of art. My display specifically deals with the gallery space that inescapably evokes a sense of awe and reverence and automatically sets precedence for the kind of work that is expected to be on display. For many of the commercial galleries, the purpose is clear – sales are top priority and content and quantity are packaged to meet the requirements of the current art market. Galleries understand that they don’t sell art, but names (if they are bigger galleries) or replicated in-vogue visual vocabulary (if they are the framer/gallery joint).

Using the allegory of false walls, I have created a gallery space within a gallery space, showing both the facade as well as the behind the scenes of a commercial show. The installation is an alternative space that stands alone in the midst of the formal college gallery and consciously uses its location and the work around it as inspiration.

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