Opening and Artist’s Talk: Sunday, May 29 from 1-3pm
Artist Talk with Sarindar Dhaliwal and the Colour Research Society of Canada: August 13, 1-2:30pm
Organized and circulated by Rodman Hall Art Centre/Brock University in collaboration with The Robert McLaughlin Gallery and The Reach Museum Abbotsford.
Toronto-based artist Sarindar Dhaliwal was born in the Punjab, India, and raised in London, England before moving to Canada in 1968. Working in a range of media that includes installation, video, photography, and drawing, she weaves compelling narratives that explore issues of culture, migration, and identity. Rooted in memories and dreams, Dhaliwal’s work reflects on the dissonance of the immigrant experience, often addressing her childhood experience and perceptions of Eastern and Western customs. Drawing out the themes of personal identity and familial relationships that appear throughout her practice, this exhibition brings together monumental works from Dhaliwal’s oeuvre of the last twenty years, contextualizing her recent interdisciplinary body of work exploring the history and ongoing consequences of the 1947 partition of India. Addressing difficult personal and collective narratives in lush, visually-stunning works that employ vibrant colours and floral motifs, Dhaliwal’s thought-provoking work responds to colonial histories with a critical approach that maintains reverence for wonder and imagination so that, as the artist describes, she may return beauty to the world.
Sarindar Dhaliwal received her BFA with a concentration in sculpture at University College Falmouth, UK, and her MFA from York University. She is currently enrolled in the Cultural Studies PhD program at Queens University. Dhaliwal was the 2012 recipient of the Canada Council International Residency at Artspace in Sydney, Australia. She has exhibited widely in Canada since the 1980s.