Visthapan

For more than a decade now artists all over the world have expressed angst and anguish over the growing migration situation. The politics of migration has incessantly inspired all art practioners especially artists and poets. It all began in 2011 when more than 14 million Syrians were forced to flee their homes in search of safety from a violent government that had cracked down on the citizens following public demonstrations in support of teenagers who had been arrested for anti-government graffiti. The intense response to dissent and the heightened tensions surrounding freedom of expression resulted in forced migration, often leading to complex challenges such as mental health issues and the need for new protection frameworks. Historically artists are known to respond naturally to such intense situations using their art to illustrate the degenerating power dynamics of politics, human vulnerability, and border issues.

There is an undeniable arresting power in Sahni’s work. Matured over time Sahni has been exploring themes of exodus, displacement, and separation in his work, using an overriding haze obliterating identity to depict and focus on the hardships and experiences of refugee communities. They seem at times to exist within a discreet existence. Their shared journeys become an intimate binding. Family separations are a significant social feature he delves on. However the decision to re-partner after separation makes his work highlight the complex interplay between displacement and the experience of being separated from one’s homeland and living in a no man’s land situation.