If the A. Balasubramaniam show has left you surfeit with sublimity, then visit the Devi Art Foundation for an antidote of socio-political specificity and grit.  “Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the ‘Souvenir Maker’,” at the Foundations’ gorgeous year-old Gurgaon space, is an event not to be missed.

The exhibition is essentially a three-part affair.  One portion of the museum displays a solo show by the mid-career Bangladeshi painter and performance artist Mahbabur Rahman, while another level showcases the “One Year Drawing Project,” an experimental exchange between four Sri Lankan artists.  Both shows are well worth a look, not least because the art from these countries so rarely gets the attention it deserves.

These two exhibitions would remain only somewhat obliquely related if it were not for the installation “Souvenir Maker” by Tallur L. N. that binds the thorny socio-political situation of the South Asian extremities.  You hear the noise before you see the piece—a loud cranking cacophony, beckoning you into the room.  And then something quieter, drawing you further towards the work— the instrumental rendition of national anthems.  Twenty-six of them, to be precise.  To the left of the narrow gallery is a dark long machine—all oil and heavy metal parts.  To the right, a brilliantly spot-lit lineup of “souvenirs,” each hermetically sealed in spotless glass vials.

The giant machine is producing them.  It is an industrial-sized barbed wire making mechanism, and every few seconds it pops out another few inches, ready for the vial!  The piece has a telling extended title: “Souvenir Maker: Designed in America, Conceptualized in India, Made in China, Sponsored by Korea.  Yes, We Are Conditioned to Think Under Flags.”  The deep background of the piece adds further interest.  Apparently Tallar found out that the original barbed-wire making machine incited an epic three year-long battle between 570 patent applicants.  He has augmented the legacy by putting in a 571st application—this time with the expressed intent of producing souvenirs.

--Sophia Powers