Issues of identity: Lopdell Gallery's I Think I Know Who You Are

Abstract

Reviews the exhibition I Think I Know Who You Are at Lopdell Gallery in Waitakere City, New Zealand, that presented the work of the multi-media artist Bepen, the video artist Mandrika Rupa, and the painters Sanjay Theodore and Shruti Yatri. The author comments on the central importance of the artists' South Asian ethnic extraction, compares the show to previous exhibitions dealing with issues of ethnic and national identity, and outlines ethical questions relating to the attempts of art institutions to engage minority audiences. He examines the hybridization of national identity with reference to Rupa's documentary Poonam (1993) and Theodore's painting Portrait of Paul M (1999), considers the subversion of stereotypical ideas of Indian character with reference to Bepen's sculpture Nahasapeemapetilon Triptych (1999; col. illus.), and concludes with discussion of an essay in the exhibition catalogue, by its curator Rebecca Lal, discussing the treatment of ethnic minorities and continuing racial stereotyping in New Zealand