Amar Kanwar

Over three decades, Amar Kanwar (b. 1964, New Delhi, India) has developed a distinctive body of lyrical films and multi-video installations rooted in the specific context of the Indian subcontinent. While charged with regional specificity and deeply personal histories, his works grapple with some of the most pressing issues of our time, moving seamlessly between documentary and fiction, the archival and the poetic.

Shaped by India’s history, Kanwar frequently reflects on the enduring legacies of decolonisation and the 1947 Partition, which led to the creation of India, Pakistan and later Bangladesh in 1971. In his films, Kanwar explores the politics of power, displacement, violence, justice and memory. Reckoning with the past to better comprehend the urgencies of the present, his work reveals what unites us, regardless of geography or context.