Fact Fission
Aicon Gallery is proud to present Fact Fission, a group exhibition curated by
Nitin Mukul featuring fourteen contemporary artists, working in various
media to challenge preconceived ideological divisions and break down the
prevailing regional aesthetics in global contemporary art.
Daily unrest in the name of democracy seems endemic to some nations,
whereas in others, complacency breeds blissful collapse. Volatile shifts in the
balance of power appear inevitable, with over-consumption taking a tangible
toll. The media's reductive narratives and sweeping generalizations over large
swathes of the globe are no longer plausible as Fact. New patterns emanate,
emerging at a pace more rapid than ever in regard to technology, nature, policy
and social upheaval. Cultural practitioners yearn to reflect this multiplicity of
voices. Enter Fission. Fusion, a term often used to describe the melding of
different cultures, seems overused and worn out. A mainstream marketing
gimmick, somewhat analogous to assimilation or multiculturalism, fusion
advocates tolerance of the ‘Other’, albeit according to its own convenience and
within the bounds of what it deems tasteful. What's more interesting is fission – when things split apart, reorganize and regenerate, smudging and splintering neatly kept categories and conventional wisdom in the process. The results are not necessarily hybrids, but new inauthentic, hyper-local and interdisciplinary manifestations resulting from willful or imposed dislocation. The work in this exhibition will center on the concept of fission, while encompassing a wide range of formal concerns.
