The best way to describe this exhibition is the adage ‘Jaisi drishti, waisi srishti’. Akkad Bakkad is our reflection on dissecting the gaze on what we call India. How we see ourselves, how the west sees us, how we see how the west sees us. This all day programme uses the public internet archive to take you through various films from different points of time and attempt to re-contextualise, juxtapose and bring to the surface new reflections on visuals already produced and consumed.

The films will not only be juxtaposed with other films, but also gifs, memes, sounds, images, almost playing like a DJ set, but in visuals. Can we call it a VJ set then? Maybe. The curator here will be invisible, instead being represented by a mouse on the screen, bring in new reflections and drawing focus to specific moments. The exhibition is made specifically for the internet medium and hence performed on the medium.

As we move towards being bombarded with more and more visuals on a daily basis, there is perhaps an even greater need to reflect on visual language, minutely. When the gaze is set on the idea of a nation, and that too on the day of the birth of the republic; and how that gaze brings forth a sliver of truth on one’s place in the world, it becomes important to the contemporary. Jaisi drishti, waisi srishti.

The exhibition will be live on our online platform: live.harkat.in. On booking, the exhibition link will be shared 24 hours before the show. Please make sure to give a correct email id and contact us on shows@harkat.in if you do not receive the link.

Entry free. RSVP required on insider.