A curator should be sensitive to the artist and the art: Sasha Altaf
- 10 Apr 2023
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
Volte Art Projects, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, inaugurated February 1 the exhibition Temporal Twists: A Subversive Metalogue by Sheba Chhachhi. It is the artist’s first solo show in the Middle East and is curated by Sasha Altaf. Chhachhi is an installation artist/ photographer who investigates questions of gender, eco-philosophy, violence, and visual cultures, with an emphasis on the recuperation of cultural memory.
Sasha Altaf, the curator, is also an art historian with an MA in Art History from the University of Miami, Florida and also a MA in Art History from the University of Leeds, UK. Founded by Tushar Jiwarajka in 2009, Volte Art Projects has celebrated international contemporary artists and collectives on its rolls. Temporal Twist, one of the artworks from where the current exhibition takes its name, is a kinetic sculpture which looks at the post-partition story of the Indian subcontinent through the use of celluloid. Trophy Hunters looks into the urge for indigenous rulers of colonial India and British colonialists, for hunting. It was, says the artist, a cultural means to display their power as sovereigns. Edible Birds looks into how yoga has morphed into private fitness regimes.
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RAKTPUSHP or Blood Flower is a photo sculpture that becomes site of reflection on plural readings of the female body in India. Seven Lives and a Dream involves an invitation by the artist to seven women — friends, sisters and fellow-activists — to collaborate with her in developing a series of staged portraits. Each woman chooses a place, posture, materials and objects that she feels can speak of her and tell her story. Curator Sasha Altaf speaks to Gulf Today about what makes artworks click with her and why she picks them.
What is your connection to curation?
I studied Art History, have taught for several years, and have been an independent curator, sporadically. Curation, I find it very similar to writing an essay for me ... where one’s thoughts extend, one elaborates ... one writes, erases, re-writes and it takes a concrete visual form ... a sense of adventure and creativity that I connect with. It is the venturing out of the expected models and considering alternatives that are most exciting.
How does the environment influence a curator’s choices?
Most exhibitions and curatorial endeavours are based on a grid of socio-political, and economic structures — considering social theory, global politics, philosophy, and the dynamics while organising an exhibition, which plays a huge part. However, personally I feel curation is part autobiographical, a reflection of one’s own values, beliefs, and sensibilities. It is then that once one identifies and understands the connection between both — which is key to further understanding the work and the artist, that one’s imagination flourishes.
Why did you choose to curate Sheba’s works? What impresses you about her work?
Sheba Chhachhi is part of the Volte Art Project roster — an artist I have held in great admiration since my academic years. It is the diversity of her practice ... and the unsparing and often exquisite mediations on critical questions about gendered bodies, subaltern histories, the relationship between humans - the natural world and eco — philosophy that fascinates me.
Do you feel sometimes Sheba Chhachhi could be more diplomatic in putting her views across?
I think no artist should have to be “diplomatic” - period. It is really sad the times we live in, where levels of engagement are questioned.
Which particular work impresses you most in the Volte exhibition? Why?
‘When the Gun is Raised - Dialogue Stops’. It is a collaborative work with Sonia Jabbar — an installation that invites the viewer to enter the private space of war, a space where women bear witness, reject violence despite being from different ethnicities - these are voices of resilience, strength, reason and compassion. It is a work that challenges the polarised representation of conflict — a work that started in 1996 and till date continues to raise important questions.
Did the owner of VAP gallery give you a free hand to choose the artworks? Or where there guidelines to be followed?
Tushar Jiwarajka — the Founder/Director of Volte Art Projects, has been actively involved with the arts since 2007 - with a progressive mind, he continues to build relationships with artists and the community. I was given full leverage from the beginning to the end, which was very refreshing. It takes faith in another to do so.
As curator, which school of art interests you most? What are the contents of the toolkit of a successful curator?
A difficult answer ... I cannot limit it to a school of art. As for a toolkit - never thought of it that way ... I think a curator should stay sensitive to the artist and the art as curators do carry the responsibility for the message of the exhibition. And a good exhibition is not about putting together just good artists but must involve some reflection, conversations between the artworks ...
You have travelled the world. Why do you feel at home in the Emirates?
I’m still discovering UAE - too soon to call it home.
What are your professional plans for Dubai and the UAE?
The journey has just begun ...
