Voices: a pop-up exhibition curated by Uthra Rajgopal
On display: 11th August - 26th November 2022
VOICES
The word Didiji is a well-known Hindi term commonly used to respectfully address an elder sister or lady. When heard among a sea of English words, it brings a knowing smile - to all those who know. Uthra Rajgopal, an independent curator specialising in South Asian textiles, is a member of a group of female South Asian artists established in 2020 called the Didijis.
The Portico is proud to exhibit Voices: the Didijis’ artistic responses to the collection, and what it means to be part of a diaspora.
The Library was established in 1806 to serve wealthy merchants and manufacturers in the heart of the British cotton industry, which profited from crops grown in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The artists chose books from the collection that looked at South Asia through a colonial lens and made connections with their individual art practices.
Manchester is a city which was built on the wealth of the British Empire. The Didijis’ presence could never have been imagined when the Portico library was built, and we celebrate their voices here now.
The Didijis
The Didijis are Sunaina Bhalla (artist), Asmaa Mahmud Hashmi (artist), Suman Gujral (artist), Madhu Manipatruni (artist) and Uthra Rajgopal (curator). Spearheaded by Suman Gujral, this group came together to provide a much needed supportive space to share and discuss open experiences and cultural barriers negotiated in our own homes, families as well as in the arts and heritage sectors, often experienced by South Asian women.
Madhu Manipatruni Untitled, 2022
(Detail of work in progress)
Khadi cotton scroll with kantha stitch depicting Hannah Snell (1723-1792) the woman who disguised herself as a man and travelled to the Coromandel Coast.
Suman Gujral River, 2022
(Detail of work in progress)
Red bookbinding thread on white Khadi, cotton rag over the poem River
Sunaina Bhalla Residual landscapes, 2022 (Detail)
Resin, assorted spices (red chilli, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds etc), burnt matchsticks
Asmaa Mahmud Hashmi
Fragile preservation, 2022
Multi plate etching on BFK Rives, Gold leaf, Thread and Nails