A Joyous Thing with Maggots at the Centre

For Asia Triennial Manchester 2014 Castlefield Gallery is pleased to present artist Hardeep Pandhal’s first solo exhibition, A Joyous Thing with Maggots at the Centre, continuing its 30 years of exhibiting early-career British artists in national or international contexts.

For Pandhal it is important to confront trauma with laughter, making work as visceral as it is satirical and often interrogating perceptions of British Asian identity with references to graffiti, psychoanalysis, modern British history, and popular culture. He draws on the conflicting experiences of others, often caught in situations of compromise, to create fictionalised characters and narratives, realised in spoof documentaries, illustrated CVs and handmade garments.

New work for this exhibition continues to explore the contradictions he encountered during his own up-bringing; drawing on personal memories to critique how processes of acculturation, or its lack, have impacted on post-colonial Britain. In the context of the ATM14 programme, with its theme of Conflict and Compassion and nationwide events marking the centenary of WW1, Pandhal’s work is a poignant consideration of how we might deal with regrettable past events, as individuals and as a society.

A Joyous Thing with Maggots at the Centre will also explore our relationship with role models and anti-heroes. Works include a 3-metre blimp in the gallery’s double height space, as a proposal for a much larger public artwork inspired by a moment in Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake of the movie Scarface, and a knitted jumper referencing iconic images of Sikh martyrdom, made via conversations with his mother.

Born in Birmingham, Pandhal now lives and works in Glasgow, having graduated with an MFA from the Glasgow School of Art in 2013 with the support of a Leverhulme Scholarship award. He was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries (2013) and the Catlin Art Guide (2014).

A new co-commissioned video work will also be launched simultaneously at Castlefield Gallery and online as part of a Full Circle Arts’ season of original artwork and writing that explores ideas around metamorphosis. digicommissions.co.uk

Established in 2008, Asia Triennial Manchester (ATM) is the only Asian Triennial outside Asia. Launched in partnership with Castlefield Gallery, Chinese Arts Centre (now CFCCA), Cornerhouse, The International 3, Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester Metropolitan University as a new long-term programme of contemporary arts and crafts by artists from Asia, the UK and the Asian diaspora. ATM14 aims to challenge perceptions about Asia, and recent challenging global events make its theme of Conflict and Compassion a timely one. This Triennial includes artists who live in, work in or address issues surrounding Asia as well as this Triennial’s artistic theme.

This exhibition includes explicit content which some people may find offensive. For further information about the nature of this work please ask a member of staff before viewing.

Please tell us about your experience of the Asia Triennial Manchester.  It won’t take more than a few minutes and in return we’ll enter you into our prize draw to win £100 in Love2Shop vouchers (terms & conditions apply). The information you provide will help us to evaluate ATM14 and will not be used for any other purpose. Click here to complete the survey.

Launch event: Fri 26 Sept 5-9pm