Mercury Rising – An Online Roundtable Discussion
with Sunil Gupta, Charan Singh, Sean Saifa Wall and others. Moderated by Luan Pertl & Sylvia Sadzinski, curators of “Mercury Rising – Inter* Hermstory[ies] Now and Then”.
February 12, 2022 // 16:00-18:00 CET
As part of SMU’s first inter*-focused exhibition “Mercury Rising – Inter* Hermstory[ies] Now and Then”, dedicated to the past and present of inter* movement(s) in activism, society, art and culture, this online roundtable brings together some of the contributing artists. They will give an insight into their artistic practices at the intersection of art and activism, re-defining new and self-empowering representations of inter* in art and society. Together with the curators of the exhibition, Luan Pertl and Sylvia Sadzinski, they will also discuss to what extent activism as well as allyship can be translated into artistic practice.
Sunil Gupta was born in New Delhi, India in 1953 and moved to Montreal with his family in the late 1960s, where his interest in photography was stimulated. In the late 1970s, he lived in New York, where he studied photography at the New School for Social Research under Lisette Model. Gutpa then moved to London, England, to continue his studies at the Royal College of Art. He has exhibited widely all over the world and published several books, including 2011 Queer (Vadehra Art Gallery/Prestel 2011) and Wish You Were Here (Yoda Press, New Delhi 2008). He works as a photographer, writer and curator out of London and Delhi, seeking to promote a greater understanding of questions regarding representation, sexuality, access and cultural differences. More information about Sunil Gupta at sunilgupta.net.
Charan Singh’s (b. 1978, India) research and practice are informed by his involvement with HIV/AIDS work and community activism, that uses the mediums of photography, video and text to explore his ‘pre-English language’ life to creates artistic resistance through storytelling and fictional fragments to express multi-layered gender experiences and the ephemeral nature of queer desire. His work reclaims subaltern queer identities, sub-cultures that has been defined mainly as victims. While refusing to form of subjugation it investigates the institutionalised modes of knowledge productions that are stained with colonial past and are being overshadows by neo-colonial narratives in India. The homepage of Charan Singh can be found under charansingh.net.
Sean Saifa Wall is an intersex activist, visual artist and rising scholar. He uses visual artistry to explore Black intersex lives and experiences. Learn more about him at seansaifa.com.
Adeline Berry draws and paints as long as they can remember. These days they try to use art to permeate the veil of misinformation and disinformation that facilitates continued abuses against intersex people.
The event lasts 2 hours and takes place on the online platform Zoom, with the following dial-in:
Meeting-ID: 882 9632 5386
PIN: 389219