untitled, India

In a way, David Sequeira’s untitled, India, 2022, is a love-letter to India that rips open complex histories and explores, with both sensitivity and sharp observation, a multifaceted country, continent and culture; while simultaneously unhinging Australia’s tendency to oversimplify Indian culture in both the good (Bollywood, cricket) and the bad (racism, cultural supremacy). In this work, Sequeira’s observations and explorations are made through a series of 56 bespoke kurtas – long, loose-fitting shirts worn in many parts of South Asia, including India – which is underpinned by radical repetition. 36 kurtas feature intense colour blocking and the remaining 20 feature black and white photography associated with Indian history.

Grace McQuilten

Untitled, India, 2022