‘Body Building’ includes over ninety works by artists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and France. As the play on words within the title suggests, the exhibition explores South Asian identities and perspectives in the context of architecture and the built environment. Significant bodies of work by each individual practitioner come together in this exhibition, reflecting the multiplicity of urban experiences across cities in South Asia. Increasing urbanisation and property development across the region is reconsidered alongside the aspirations and challenges that accompany these economic transformations.
Works have also been selected particularly because they resonate with the South Asian experience in the Gulf, particularly how cities across these regions influence each other. Works include representational images such as portraiture, landscape and studio photography, archival materials, and more experimental forms such as collage and Instagram video.
