Kalimpong

Dawood, S. 2016. Kalimpong. Timothy Taylor, London 16 Sep 2016 - 22 Oct 2017

CreatorsDawood, S.
Description

Continuing an interest in how we experience time, and more specifically how the past continues to echo into the present, Dawood uses the site of Kalimpong – a small town in West Bengal – as a bridge between the past and the present. This is achieved through a layering of narratives that link Buddhism, painting, textiles, animation, digital new media and historical and speculative narrative. The exhibition is constructed as a score that is informed by the questioning of the borders between virtual and material reality, and how that border becomes a contemporary expression of the border between figuration and abstraction, and between the Buddhist tradition of nirvana and of samsara (enlightenment and the world). Kalimpong was the site of French explorer and esotericist Alexandra David-Néel’s first meeting with the Dalai Lama (1912), before her legendary journey to Lhasa. Later it was described as a ‘nest of spies’, after the Sino-Soviet split, and in advance of the Sino-Indian war, as various powers competed for resources and influence in Central Asia. Kalimpong also became the base for Texan billionaire Tom Slick’s Yeti expeditions, which may or may not have been covert operations.
While the works are not specific illustrations of these and other stories, they explore a larger imaginary of place, and the echoes and ripples of the various narrative layers that extend from it. The exhibition brings together a new body of work, comprising sculpture, neon, painting, and an immersive virtual reality (VR) work set in Kalimpong, spanning the 1920s and the 1960s to the present day. Accompanying the exhibition is Kalimpong, a new publication by Dawood, with texts by Barbara Sirieix, Michael Vazquez, Kai Friese, Alex Keefe, Tenzing Barshee and Rosie Thomas.

Shezad Dawood: Kalimpong
Edited by Camilla Palestra
Published by Timothy Taylor and Sternberg Press (2016)
ISBN 10: 3956792769 ISBN 13: 9783956792762

Shezad Dawood in conversation with Nicolas Bourriaud
http://www.timothytaylor.com/exhibitions/shezad-dawood-kalimpong/

Year2016
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Related outputs

Shezad Dawood in conversation with Lucy Reynolds
Reynolds, L. and Dawood, S. 2021. Shezad Dawood in conversation with Lucy Reynolds. The Moving Image Review & Art Journal (MIRAJ). 10 (1-2), pp. 74-102. https://doi.org/10.1386/miraj_00064_7

Leviathan
Dawood, S. 2019. Leviathan. Bluecoat, Liverpool 06 Jul - 13 Oct 2019

Encroachments (Premiered at Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber)
Dawood, S. 2019. Encroachments (Premiered at Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber). Sharjah, UAE 07 Mar - 10 Jun 2019

Kalimpong (A Lost Future: Shezad Dawood)
Dawood, S. 2018. Kalimpong (A Lost Future: Shezad Dawood) . The Rubin Museum of Art (NYC, USA) 23 Feb - 21 May 2018

Leviathan
Dawood, S. 2017. Leviathan.

Dances with Cryptids
Dawood, S. 2016. Dances with Cryptids. in: Palestra, C. (ed.) Kalimpong London Sternberg Press. pp. 54-62

Towards the Possible Film
Dawood, S. 2014. Towards the Possible Film .

Black Sun Alchemy, Diaspora and Heterotopia
Dawood, S. 2013. Black Sun Alchemy, Diaspora and Heterotopia. in: van Noord, G. (ed.) Black Sun London Ridinghouse. pp. pp 4-80

Piercing brightness
Dawood, S. 2012. Piercing brightness.

New dream machine project
Dawood, S. 2012. New dream machine project. Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art 5 December 2012 - 23 February 2013

Feature
Dawood, S. 2009. Feature. Tate, London 06 Feb - 26 Apr 2009

Artists' studio
Dawood, S. 2007. Artists' studio.

Artist's studio
Dawood, S. Perrot, C. (ed.) 2007. Artist's studio. London Culture Shock Media.

Paradise row
Dawood, S., Gino, T. and Hammond, C. 2005. Paradise row.

We Have Met the Enemy & He Is Us
Dawood, S., Ghazi, B., Hulusi, M., Araeen, R., Aramesh, R., Islam, R. and Seize, A. 2005. We Have Met the Enemy & He Is Us.

'Sister Kali's Soul Temple – the Goddess of Death and Aretha Franklin' and 'Lecture in Conversation - an improved dialogue between Albert Camus and Lord Krishna'
Dawood, S. 2005. 'Sister Kali's Soul Temple – the Goddess of Death and Aretha Franklin' and 'Lecture in Conversation - an improved dialogue between Albert Camus and Lord Krishna'. 6900 Bregenz, Bergmannstrasse 6, Austria. 16 Jul - 04 Sep 2005

London in six easy steps
Dawood, S. 2005. London in six easy steps.

For a few rupees more
Dawood, S. 2005. For a few rupees more.

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