The curator of LB03 delves into the significance of biennales, his curatorial approach, and unique challenges of integrating diverse cultural context
The curator of LB03 delves into the significance of biennales, his curatorial approach, and unique challenges of integrating diverse cultural contexts within Pakistan.
Sumbul Natalia: What drew you to take on the role of guest curator for the Lahore Biennale 2024, and h
ow did your previous experiences at Asia Art Archive influence your approach to this edition, titled Of Mountains and Seas?
John Tain: One major factor in my deciding to work on the Biennale was my experience here in 2020 that was my first time in Pakistan, and also my first time in Lahore, when I was invited to come speak as part of the academic forum for LB02. And even though it was right before the pandemic, it was actually my last trip before the pandemic. It was great to be able to see Lahore and also see what a wonderful job Hoor al Qasmi did curating the last edition of the Biennale. And so when the Director of LBF, Qudsia Rahim reached out to me about the possibility of the Biennale, I immediately thought that would be a great opportunity to work with this amazing city and its people. And also to work with artists that I’ve known and worked with over the number of years, as well as new artists as a group together to contribute to this project that hopefully will be enriching to the city.
SN: How do you see the themes of “Of Mountains and Seas” resonating with the cultural and historical landscape of Lahore and Pakistan more broadly?
JT: When we started this conversation, one of the things that was focused on our minds was the floods of 2022 and the devastation it bought. And I think that we were very mindful that if we were going to proceed with the Biennale, we really had to do something that would address these issues and problems that were very serious. And so ecologies and sustainability very quickly became the theme of this edition. One of the things that was very important for the process, and ultimately the decision for how it would take place was, on one hand, visiting the sites and understanding the city and its histories and how they speak to specific conditions and ecologies. And on the other hand, the very important experience for me was meeting with some of the artists here in Lahore. There were visits to artists’ studios and then there were visits to the miniature painting department at NCA, and in all of those cases, just seeing how we were just working, and understanding that their practice isn’t just about making pictures or making movies about something, but actually they had a very specific way of relating to materials and relating to the earth, learning how to make the paper by hand, learning how to make the brush by hand, and learning how to make the pigments. And all of that entails a certain kind of close relationship to materiality and to understanding where these materials come from. I think that was a very important lesson, and something that hopefully we can convey from this Biennale, that, ecology isn’t just about slogans. But it is about how we relate to the world around us and understanding those relations better.
SN: How important do you think it is bringing art to public spaces, especially in Pakistan where the general public usually has had no interaction with contemporary art.
JT: I think that’s been one of the main appeals of working on the Biennale. When the Lahore Biennale foundation started, there was no museum here for contemporary art. I did not let that be an obstacle. And we had this idea that rather than trying to build a museum to contain art, let’s take art to the people and work with that as an asset. And actually, one of the really unique characteristics of this Biennale is that it’s not just the process of going to artists and allotting them a space asking them to work with it. Rather there’s a dialogue with both the artists and with different places. And it’s almost like matchmaking. It’s like, oh, this artist would be great here, and that artist would be great there.
SN: How do you envision the role of international art biennales, like the Lahore Biennale, in reshaping narratives about South Asian art on the global stage?
JT: So I guess one thing that I was very mindful of, is that, because I am not South Asian, what I can do is bring a perspective, that is informed by my upbringing and my history as someone who was born in Taiwan and has been based in Hong Kong for last few years, and was very familiar with the context of Asia and other parts of the continent. And one of the things that I was interested in is having these kinds of conversation for what has been happening here before in South Asia more broadly. So when we’re talking about ecologies and climate crisis, one thing that was made clear by the floods in 2022 was how vulnerable Pakistan is. But Pakistan is not alone in that world. You know, many other countries across Asia which lie basically in their equatorial regions, are similarly facing serious problems. So one of the things that, for instance, I really thought of was importance, was to put Pakistan in conversation, not just as part of South Asia, but as part of the larger region. We have many works by Pakistani artists, but we also have number of works by artists that are talking about what’s happening in Indonesia. And between Indonesia and Pakistan, we have the two largest Muslim majority countries in the world, and yet there’s almost no kind of conversations between them. And so this Biennale is about stimulating that kind of conversation and building those kinds of bridges between people who have so much that they can share.
SN: What role do you see Pakistani artists playing in the broader conversation around contemporary art in South Asia? Are there any specific artists from the Biennale who you believe are making a particularly compelling impact?
JT: As I mentioned before, artists like Ali Kazim or Hamra Abbas, are very well known on the world stage, and who can do so much in terms of spreading the message of what Pakistani artists can contribute. But one of the things that we’re also very mindful of is that they represent a certain generation of Pakistani artists, but there are younger generations as well. And so we want this Biennale to be multi-generational. So in the case of the Womanifesto project that we did, it’s open to everyone and was a collaboration between organizations and the students of the Fashion department at BNU. Then there is a younger artist named Niamat Niggar who grew up in Balochistan and who, in his teenage years worked as a minor in the coal mines, near Lorelai, where he grew up. We wanted to have the perspective of someone who didn’t grow up in one of the major urban centers and who has this kind of experiences that can inform us about what’s happening in terms of the ecologies, so when we talk about Pakistan, we understand it’s not just one thing, it’s actually a multiplicity of different views and different experiences.
SN: For this edition of the Lahore Biennale, we see many younger artists also being featured. How has your experience been like while working with the young artist versus the more experienced ones?
JT: Well, I think that, with each of the artists, it’s a very, very personal and unique relationship. We have artists who are more experienced. And some don’t necessarily have the experience of doing a more scaled project. And so there’s a lot more discussion and mentoring, and helping them understand what the process is, and it’s not just about them making it work by themselves, but them participating in a larger project with a group of people. And so that is part of what the Biennale is also about.
SN: What advice would you offer to emerging curators and artists in Pakistan who are looking to make their mark both locally and globally and reflecting on your own journey, are there any insights or lessons you wish someone had shared with you when you first started curating?
JT: I feel like the advice maybe I would offer to aspiring creators and exhibition organizers and artists is to always look outward, and to think about what’s happening out in the world, and to be in dialog with that and to not limit yourselves to just what’s happening around you, but to think about the larger world and how what’s happening within your community relates to that larger phenomenon, being able to articulate that is a very important thing, because we’re all parts of specific communities, but also part of the larger world, and it’s important to be able to understand our place in both.
SN: What was your selection process for the LB03? Did you choose artists who were already working with themes of ecology or did you already have artists in mind that you wanted to work with?
JT: It’s a little bit of both. There are some artists that I really had thought would be great, to have them involved. And in many cases, that worked out, as they are here and you can see them. In some cases, maybe for logistical reasons or scheduling reasons they couldn’t all participate. So that’s one thing. And in some instances, it’s also picking up with artists like, who could be a person who could address a specific issue? So it’s a kind of a mix, and sometimes it’s also about who is a good fit for this kind of project. Because not all art and not all artists are suitable for the Biennale, for instance, shipping is a huge deal in a Biennale. So for the most part, the works are realized on site, or else they were chosen because they were very portable.
SN: Did you encounter any unexpected challenges during the curatorial process in Lahore? How did you adapt to them?
JT: I would say that LBF and LB03, both benefited from enormous support from the broader community. For instance, none of this would have been possible without collaborators like YMCA, giving us the space, or WCLA lending us so much of the space that we’re using. Or the provincial government and its various departments. So everyone had a playable role in making this possible. That said, there were also some challenges with scheduling and site inspections. For instance, originally, we were going to open in February, and then our dates had to be shifted for various reasons. In one instance, we picked a site that all of us were very excited about, but it turned out the building was not really usable.
SN: What are your thoughts on the role of technology and digital platforms in shaping the future of art curation and exhibition, especially in regions with rich traditional art practices like South Asia?
JT: I think that one of the things that I’m really interested in is the way that I think, rather than thinking about tradition versus modernity as opposites, I’m interested in voices that are exploring the way that you can have both. So, you know, one of the artists in the Biennale is Subash Thebe Limbu, who’s an artist from Nepal, and who’s working on an Adivasi futurism. So it’s simultaneously nutrient for the community members from the arabas community, but at the same time also doing it in the Sci Fi, speculative fiction way. And so I think it’s really interesting that there are artists who are finding a way to bridge those two and finding a way to create kind of a future vision which isn’t just like in a proposition to tradition but finds a way to incorporate it.
SN: How has working in Lahore for this Biennale influenced or changed your own understanding of place, community, and the role of art in shaping these?
JT: There has been a lot of learning for everyone involved in the project. And so I think for myself included, just working with the different participants, I would have never guessed what would come out. For instance, I could never know that the WeMend project for the Biennale would take this form. It was just kind of astonishing to see what happened. It was about trusting the TFA department at BNU to realize this. And they really delivered. The same thing applies to the museum. They were just phenomenal in terms of what they were able to deliver. So I think that even though people maybe have the stereotype of Pakistan as being a challenge, I think there’s remarkable strength and resources that are in the community, and I think it’s a matter of giving them the occasion to let them shine.
