Virginia Whiles - Art and Polemic in Pakistan-Cultural Politics and Tradition in Contemporary Miniature Painting
Open Lecture
Virginia’s book charts the movement of contemporary miniature painting in Lahore, Pakistan (which has been the foundation of Virginia’s research for over 10 years). It is presented through participant-observation of the practice, based on traditional apprenticeship, and inspired to re-invent itself through measures of appropriation and parody towards a critical chronicle of socio-political issues such as fundamentalism, violence against women, nuclear warfare, corruption and militarism. Within the context of post-colonial art education, the issues are those of the provenances of convention and the consequences of innovation, in other words its interaction with the art world is shown as a means of projecting the politics of a localised cultural conflict onto a screen of globalised proportions to investigate the ideological issues at stake: gender conflicts, indigenous and western aesthetics, cultural identity, market and globalisation, audiences, performative knowledge. The study looks specifically at the works of 9 artists through a fusion of art historical and anthropological perspectives.
Virginia’s Open Lecture has been organised to coincide with an exhibition partly curated by Virginia:
Le Cabinet de Curiosites de Mlle Clouet
An ethnographic exhibition as homage to the life and work of Shelagh Cluett (1948-2007)
The display in the vitrines of the old library at Chelsea College will be composed of objects from her collection and documentation of her travels in Asia which inspired her sculpture. A catalogue including her works and texts contributed by colleagues and friends will be edited by the curator: Virginia Whiles, co-curator and archivist: Johanna Garrad.
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Related Projects
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TrAIN Open Series
The TrAIN Open series is a forum for invited speakers to present exhibition, publication, and research projects in the form of lectures, discussions and screenings.
Taking place at fortnightly intervals on Wednesday evenings during the academic term, the series is open to the public, as well as staff and students across the University of the Arts London.
Find out more about TrAIN Open Series
Related People
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Sutapa Biswas
TrAIN Core Member - Reader
I was born in India and educated in England where I have lived since the age of four. I undertook my BA in Fine Art at The University of Leeds (1981-1985), after which I completed my postgraduate study at the Slade School of Art (1988-1990), and at the Royal College of Art between (1996-1998).
Find out more about Sutapa Biswas -
Professor Deborah Cherry
TrAIN Core Member - Associate Director
I studied in the UK (Edinburgh and London) and I have worked in the UK, the USA, and in Europe, where I am now at the University of Amsterdam. Following my PhD I have written extensively on art in Britain in the nineteenth and early twentieth century with two books, Painting Women (1994) and Beyond the Frame: Feminism and Visual Culture (2000) along with exhibitions such as ‘The Edwardian Era’ (co-curated 1987).
Find out more about Professor Deborah Cherry
