Why do women's bodies become the site of the mad pursuit of possession of lands? When the bodies of women – and the dignity they deserve but almost always have to beg for – are mutilated to the bone, what is remembered? What is forgotten? What remains? What is submerged?
For the first time since Amar Kanwar created it in 2007, 'The Lightning Testimonies' exhibition visits Assam, the northeastern state in India. The exhibition brings back the spasms of memories of violence that the Indian subcontinent has since long been familiarised with, as it reflects upon a history of conflict in the region through experiences of sexual violence.
Every year in Assam, as with its bordering neighbours, at least one gruesome episode of violence breaks out. That the grotesque has become so mundane that it is best shrugged away, is exemplified by the fact that it took so long for this exhibit to come to this region of India.
