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Isya ♥ Arts

Since its inception in 2010, LATITUDE 28 has been promoting creative dialogue and presenting dynamic exhibitions that focus on contemporary art from South Asia. Founded by art historian Bhavna Kakar, LATITUDE 28 has become synonymous with cutting edge art from the region, seeking fresh perspectives and innovative thinking in its attempt to stimulate interest in new waves of art making and provides a horizontal environment where artists are encouraged to contextualize and experiment with medium and material, positioning them within historical and contemporary frameworks that critically respond to the canon. When making programmatic decisions, LATITUDE 28 seeks to promote diversity through building a community and culture that is inclusive of all groups and individuals. Keeping with its wider role as an institution dedicated to the arts, LATITUDE 28 has paved the way for active collaborations between artists from Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India through its curated shows and outreach events. The gallery, thus, continues to work towards making art accessible and inclusive to larger audiences and our patrons, with exhibitions strategically located at the nexus where artists, their work, art institutions, collectors and many different publics intersect.

Artist Biography

Neda Tavallaee (b. 1973, Tehran) completed her B.F.A. from the Art University of Tehran in 2000. Neda’s most recent solo exhibitions include shows at the Jana Comparative Contemporary Art Gallery in Tehran (2015) and the Siin Gallery in Tehran in 2014 and 2011 among others. She has also participated in group shows such as ‘Dissensus’, presented by Gallery Latitude 28 at Bikaner House, New Delhi, India (2017) and Edge Projects in London (2017) among other shows. Her work focuses on the situation one faces as a woman and as a people. There has always been a sense of mystery about women in the Middle East, perhaps because of the culture that has always required them to hide their bodies, emotions and thoughts or the taboos forced upon them through time. Behind this body of work is the lack of heroes in the society. The work is inspired by some arrests that took place a while back in Iran that were to Neda’s knowledge unjust. She decided to use pages of the Shahnameh, a book abundant with tales of heroism and patriots, as the background in contrast with the image of the “damsel in distress” symbolic of Hawa (Eve in Islam) who has to solve all her problems by herself and seek justice alone.