A Season Outside

Amar Kanwar is an award-winning film-maker whose practice straddles documentary and art video. 'A Season Outside' is an early, critical work in KanwarÂ’s career. It introduces themes that endure throughout the artistÂ’s practice: borders, nationhood and violence. It is a very personal view of India in the 50 years since Partition, in which Kanwar considers the use of violence in times of conflict. The video opens at dawn: there is a white line on the ground where we observe two pairs of feet on either side of the demarcated border as they step on each other in an apparent act of aggression. However, it quickly transpires that these are men passing heavy sacks of goods to each other across the border between India and Pakistan. The video offers a postcolonial dialogue with BristolÂ’s historic collections, whilst complementing the growing collection of video art presented by the Art Fund through Art Fund International.