Reena Saini Kallat's Woven Chronicle Examines Geopolitical Hierarchies at Richard Saltoun Rome

Reena Saini Kallat's solo exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery in Rome features the monumental wall installation 'Woven Chronicle,' a global map woven with electrical cables, nets, and barbed wire that critiques ecological impact and resource inequalities between the Global North and South. The show includes the photographic series 'Pattern Recognition,' which reinterprets the Snellen eye chart by replacing letters with country silhouettes to highlight disparities in international mobility access. In 'Water Book' and 'Leaking Lines,' the artist portrays rivers as precious resources and sources of tension, emphasizing border vulnerability. The series 'Ruled Paper' converts school notebook lines into red, blue, and white electrical wire and barbed wire, symbolizing how education and knowledge are constrained by power structures. 'Hyphenated Lives' presents hybrid creatures that challenge artificial national divisions, representing fluid identities and complex belongings. Kallat's practice draws from archives to critically investigate history, collective memory, identity, and perception, weaving networks of meaning that explore communication and power across past and present. The exhibition is curated by Lori Adragna, an art historian and independent curator based in Rome.