I AM – of Burns, Bare and Bloom
Sampurna Chakraborty

Beyond the question of discrimination, power struggle, their rights and suppression, liberty to be and their choice to decide – there is a volatile space called expression. Expression that is a consequence of survival. Surviving to ascertain the question – who I Am. This very generic question stimulates the consciousness of identity, space, resistance, resolution, confession and confrontation in one’s every day. Ushmita Sahu curated a show inviting twenty-five women and incepting this question of identity. The exhibition called I AM previewed on 8 March 2017 at Art Multi – Disciplines in Kolkata. On the eve of International Working Woman’s Day, the small format works on display offer multi- generational artists across India, creating a platform for uninhabited dialogue, turning the white cube to an album of intimate memory and fantasy recollection.

It was after hours one rainy evening, that I visited the gallery to see the works and the humble unpretentious space at A.M (Art Multi – disciplines) Studio, gradually inducted me into its intimacy. While browsing through the works and loitering across the room, it gave me a sense of a time and memory when slam books or (curiously