"Loss...." a video & photography exhibition on Kashmir by Saadiya Kochar at Wonderwall, F 208 (2nd Floor), Lado Sarai > 26th November 2012-10th January 2013

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Time : 
26th November : 6:30 pm onwards - Opening
27th November to 10th January : 11:00 am - 7:00 pm - Exhibition on View

Entry : Free

Place : Wonderwall, F 208 (2nd Floor), Lado Sarai, New Delhi - 110030
Venue Info : www.wonderwall.co.in | Nearest Metro Station - 'Saket(Yellow Line)'

Event Description : Studio One Eleven presents 'Loss....' a video and photography exhibition on Kashmir by Saadiya Kochar. 

Loss….. is a video project that has been made primarily with stills. It is a story about the anguish and longing of the people of Kashmir and of the artist who visits the valley. Three stories one of the Muslims, the other of the Pandits and the last one of the artist are bound together by a common thread that reveals the way in which different people cope with loss.

Part 1-During the unrest of 2010 in Kashmir, over a hundred boys were booked under the Public Safety Act & detained without fair trails. Amnesty has called for it’s abolition since it is considered to facilitate the practice of torture. A lot of the boys who are booked are protestors, wanting a free state. But some living in specific localities get caught in the midst of violent situations, without actively participating. This part of the video is a recreation of such a situation.The artist goes to the Valley and meets a young boy who acts as her guide. In the midst of showing her around he gets caught by the authorities for being seen at the protests. While he's being tortured he has sudden flashes memories of his childhood and of Kashmiri life. In the end the woman leaves and he dies on the bus stand. This part  of the film is inspired by Chris Marker's La Jetee. 

PART 2- In the1990’s Kashmiri Pandits left their homeland. This was a forceful migration; of what some believe to be, of over a 1,00,000 people. The Pandit exodus made people migrants in their own land. Most of them could never return to Kashmir. But then some did…..In part two the artist interviews Pandits about their experiences of being in Kashmir and why they chose to come back or live there. 

Part 3- is about the loss that the artist experiences due to which she goes to Kashmir.Loss…..is a 24 minute film about the way the artist views Kashmir over a period of four years.   

The Exhibition
The exhibition is of over 80 photographs. All of these photographs are part of the film. The aim of the exhibit is to overwhelm the viewer in the same manner that the artist is taken in by Kashmir. To be able to portray the exact way in which she travels through the beauty and the conflict. 

About Saadiya Kochar - Saadiya Kochar started her career at the age of 24 by self publishing a book titled 'Being.....'. Ever since then her career has never followed a conventional path. Only a couple of years after Saadiya organised a festival on Sufism at The ATTIC, New Delhi and went on to participate in various shows in India as well as abroad. Saadiya made her international debut in Spain and then went on to show in Germany and In London. She had a solo show in Chennai with The Apparao Gallery. Saadiya continually works on women centric projects and has books on Kashmir in the pipelines.

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