Review: 'Growing Like A Tree' at Ishara Art Foundation Explores South Asian Image-Making and Community
The exhibition 'Growing Like A Tree,' curated by Sohrab Hura, is hosted at the Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai, showcasing the work of 14 artists from South and Southeast Asia from January 20 to May 20. Hura shares personal reflections on his mother’s mental health, accompanied by handwritten notes. Among the featured pieces is Jaisingh Nageswaran's 'I FEEL LIKE A FISH' (2020), which connects the isolation of the pandemic to caste-based untouchability in Tamil Nadu. Nida Mehboob's 'Shadow Lives' series addresses the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan. Additionally, the Feminist Memory Project documents revolutionary women in Nepal (1960-1990), while Bunu Dhungana tackles gender-based violence, and Munem Wasif's film 'Kheyal' (2015–18) portrays Old Dhaka. The exhibition emphasizes artistic dialogues during COVID-19 and ethnoreligious conflict.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Growing Like A Tree' curated by Sohrab Hura at Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai
- Features 14 artists and collectives from South and Southeast Asia
- Runs from 20 January to 20 May
- Includes works by Jaisingh Nageswaran, Nida Mehboob, Bunu Dhungana, Munem Wasif, and Sean Lee
- Showcases The Feminist Memory Project from Nepal Picture Library, launched in April 2018
- Focuses on image-making, community, and issues like caste, gender violence, and ethnoreligious conflict
- Uses handwritten annotations instead of formal wall labels
- Reflects connections within the Chobi Mela circuit across Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and UAE
Entities
Artists
- Sohrab Hura
- Nida Mehboob
- Jaisingh Nageswaran
- Bunu Dhungana
- Munem Wasif
- Sean Lee
Institutions
- Ishara Art Foundation
- Nepal Picture Library
- Anjali House
- Chobi Mela
Locations
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Pakistan
- Nepal
- Tamil Nadu
- India
- Old Dhaka
- Bangladesh
- Cambodia
- Sri Lanka
- UAE