Divya Mehra, Afterlife of Colonialism, a reimagining of Power: It’s possible that the Sun has set on your Empire OR Why your voice does not matter: Portrait of an Imbalanced, and yet contemporary diasporic India vis-à-vis Colonial Red, Curry Sauce Yellow, and Paradise Green, 2018. Inflatable attempt at the Taj Mahal, acrylic deep base paint, 15’ x 15’ x 15’.
Art Gallery of Alberta
2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq
Edmonton, Alberta
Date
As a special project for the exhibition “Vision Exchange: Perspectives from India to Canada,” the AGA is presenting a new work by Canadian artist Divya Mehra in the RBC Work Room. Mehra’s installation utilizes the Taj Mahal as a point of departure, considering how it has become and overused and problematic cultural signifier representing South Asian people throughout the diaspora.
Editors' Comment
Divya Mehra, a finalist for the 2017 Sobey Art Award, knows well how to bring critique into the gallery. In this case, the critique takes on the tourist-ification of the Taj Mahal, as well as the commercialization of that imagery through social media and otherwise.