Narratives of the Immediate

Artist: Tushar Joag

April 17, 2009 | 6.30 pm
Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai

Locating his practice through aesthetics and politics, Tushar Joag investigates the geopolitical paradigm of his time, particularly economic liberalization and global capital. He aligns with persuasive subaltern movements that critiqued policies of both the state and capitalist regimes.

His artistic stance of a paradoxical provocateur came through the establishment of Unicell (2005), a fictitious one-man company that undertook public works through farcical strategies and production plans. Derisive of corporate sectors that camouflage displacement of people under the mask of development, Joag made a range of works consisting of drawings, paintings and installations as the CEO of Unicell. Describing himself as a public intervention artist, Joag is arguably one of the pioneers of public art in India through which he honed his guerrilla-like performative actions in the public sphere. In this presentation, Joag will speak about his key projects at Unicell.

Joag received his graduate and postgraduate degrees in sculpture at the Sir. J.J. School of Art, Mumbai (1987) and the M.S. University, Baroda (1989), which was followed by a fellowship at the Kanoria Centre for Art (1990-1992). He was selected for the residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (1998-2000), and as part of the RAIN Artists’ Initiatives Network co-founded the Open Circle (1999-2008) with Sharmila Samant. This network emanating from the Rijksakademie in the late 1990s, functioned as a worldwide platform for initiatives sent up in Africa, Asia and Latin America.