an invitation to reflect, feel, and vicariously experience the vastness above…

curated by pramodha weerasekera

featuring artists

sabeen omar

arshad hakim

aruni dharmakirthi

12–19 december 2023 at the art gallery, kamaladevi complex, india international centre, new delhi, India

inordinate skies invites you to be moved. You are encouraged to soak in any emotions you feel as a result of what your senses capture. You may wish to stare, slow your walking pace, sit down, close your eyes, and contemplate why each artwork moves you so. Starting from the curator’s own personal desire to look at the sky in moments of despair, melancholy, and pondering, the artworks in this project mark sometimes significant, sometimes fleeting yet memorable skies. The three artists’ relationships with such skies are metaphorical and intricately detailed––they reflect on the emotional impact of the presence(s) and absence(s) of skies amidst their individual urban, busy lives in the cities of Colombo, Bangalore, and Brooklyn (with the project being primarily produced in Delhi).

inordinate skies has three curatorial ‘interventions’: an exhibition from 12–19 December 2023 held at India International Centre, New Delhi; a publication with a curatorial essay, a commissioned piece by each artist, and more skies, a series of public gatherings. The project is part of the Curatorial Intensive South Asia (CISA) 2023, supported by the Khoj International Artists’ Association and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi.

inordinate skies, the publication

The three artists sabeen, arshad, and aruni respond to the question “when is the last time you looked at the sky?” using mediums and forms ranging from painting and photography to text. These responses were specially commissioned for this project. The publication also includes a curatorial essay and curatorial (an)notations to the artworks displayed in the exhibition. A limited number of first-edition copies of the publication will be distributed for free during the exhibition until 19 December 2023.

Download a free digital copy of the publication here.

more skies

threading skies: sewing circles with sabeen omar

16 december saturday, 11.30am–1pm and 2.30–4pm at the IIC verandah

[registration recommended via this link]

screening of the film to see the sun at midnight / loving against time (2023) by arshad hakim followed by the artist in conversation with pramodha weerasekera

18 december monday, 6–8pm at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi 3, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110 001

copyedited by rasudula dissanayake

exhibition design by arundika weerasekera and shahdia jamaldeen

identity design by raeesah samsudeen

acknowledgements (in alphabetical order)

aaqeel jiffry, all fellows of the curatorial intensive south asia 2023, all staff of the khoj international artists’ association, all tutors of the curatorial intensive south asia 2023, especially latika gupta and shuddhabhrata sengupta, annalisa mansukhani, ark foundation for the arts vadodara, ayesha singh, christopher garcia valle, committee, patrons, and staff of museum of modern and contemporary art sri lanka, denise n green, dumesha wimalasiri, emile molin, foundation for indian contemporary art (FICA), imesh liyanage, kaumadi jayaweera, lojithan ram, malithi weeraratna, malshani delgahapitiya, mineli karunaratne, nia thandapani, nihaal faizal, ruhanie perera, ryan samaratunga, sabih ahmed, samira bose, sarasija subramanian, sharmini pereira, sukanya deb, thilini perera, thinal sajeewa, three jewels nyc

all family and friends of the artists and the curator