SONAL KANTARIA in conversation with Art Haxhijakupi

Curators

The Koppel Project

Artists

Sonal Kantaria

Join us for an evening of inspiring conversation between Art Haxhijakupi and Sonal Kantaria. The discussion will center on the themes of displacement, identity, and belonging in contemporary art practices, as well as include examples from Kantaria's own work. The event will also feature short film screenings, followed by a Q&A session.

Sonal Kantaria is a British-Indian visual artist whose work explores themes of movement, settlement, representation and cultural identity.

In works such as in her collaborative film work After the Crows Flies (2016), Kantaria explores the aftermath and ongoing effects of colonisation on indigenous populations in Western Australia. Other notable works have focused on the protection of women’s rights and gender-based violence, such as Naseeb: Trafficked (2010), portraying young Indian and Bangladeshi women caught in a web of human trafficking and prostitution

Kantaria recently completed her PhD in Film Studies at Kings College, London. She has exhibited internationally at the Magenta Foundation, Delhi Photo Festival, Perth Centre for Photography, Ikon Gallery and Whitechapel Gallery. Her films were showcased in the BAFTA-recognised Aesthetica Film Festival and the London International Short Film Festival. Her works are held in collections including the Wesfarmers Art Collection, Australia and the UK Parliament Art Collection.

Art Haxhijakupi (TKP) is an artist and writer from Kosovo whose current practice involves utilising technology combined with original photography and other material belongings to evoke long-term personal memories of displacement and the state of being unhomed. The complex task of visualising these (sometimes abstract) memories is followed by manual interventions, which include incorporating material elements to further refine the envisioned images.