Dhi Artspace is pleased to present Land of the Leal, our first solo exhibition with Jharkhand-born Kolkata-based artist Arjun Das. Inspired by the experiences of the migrant working class in Kolkata, Das’s work refers to the lives of younger generation workers who abandoned their studies in search of a new life in the city, an imagined heaven. Contrary to their expectations, the city pushes them to scarcity and exhaustion, leaving little room to accommodate themselves and their belongings. With an extensive set of conversations with the workers in Bara Bazaar, Kolkata, conjoined with his experiences as a young migrant in the city, Arjun Das responds to the interiority of a displaced laborer’s everyday life.
As the artist notes, “The spaces the migrants inhabit bear no clear demarcations of a kitchen, washroom, private room, and market. Further, they are like disparate elements assembled to create a makeshift shelter far removed from the comfort of their hometown. I attempt to make these
conditions visible by bringing them into the space of art. I also try to capture their urban dreams drastically transform into a site of uncertainty”.
In Land of the Leal, Das extends his material preoccupation with wood to new explorations of metal, stone coal, terracotta roof tiles, and asphalt elements integral to the worker’s daily life in the
city. Led by diverse material and interpersonal conversations, Das presents stories of unrealized dreams responding to the life he once lived and continues to reflect on.
About the artist
Born 1994 in Giridih, Jharkhand, Arjun Das studied at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata where he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts (2015) and Master of Fine Arts (2017) specialized in sculpture. After his post-graduation, he participated in prestigious residency programmes, including the ArbeitsgruppeGasteatelier Krone, Switzerland, FlACC Workplace Art Residency, Belgium, the Piramal Art Residency, Mumbai (2019), and the Emami Art Residency, Kolkata (2021). He also took part in Youth South Asia Young Subcontinent, organized by Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa.
Das has also presented his work in many exhibitions including, Traces – solo exhibition at Museum Forum Schloss Platz, Switzerland (2019), PERSPECTA 17, a group show at Gallery88 Kolkata, India (2017), Persistence of Memory a group show, at Art Positive, New Delhi (2019), Metaphor: The Magic It Holds group show at Dhi Artspace, Hyderabad (2020), An Unlocated Window of Myself, Gallery Dotwalk, New Delhi, (2022) among others.
Das has received several awards and scholarships, including the National Scholarship of the Ministry of Culture, India (2018), Hyundai Art for Hope Grant (2022), Cima Annual Show (2019), Birla Annual Exhibition, Kolkata (2017), Abir India Ahmedabad (2018).
About Dhi Artspace
Dhi Artspace is an incubator for young talents and a seamless space for dialogue in contemporary art that represents and supports both emerging artists and established masters. A one-stop destination for art lovers and collectors in Hyderabad, Dhi is committed to creating a discourse on art; with curated shows and a variety of workshops, exhibitions, talks, and community art projects that challenge the status quo.
Founded in 2014, Dhi Artspace is centrally located in the city of Hyderabad, with the gallery having the finest display facility and a fully equipped printmaking studio open for art practitioners.