Roohi Ahmed, No Man's Land, 2008
An artistic response to Partition in places like Pakistan and Palestine, the artists on display here have literally taken the exhibition theme to heart, with precise and carefully considered works that whisper gently against the topic. Seher Shah's Monumental Fantasies series, for example, flirt between division and history, whilst Roohi Ahmed delicately tinkers with the noise of fireworks.
It is in Hajra Waheed's photograph of Nehru, that we get a sense of the players involved with Partition, his dramatic figure towering suitably amongst the quiet observations of the show. Sophie Ernst's "Home (Zarina)" records the memory of people displaced by borders, albeit via a video installation, and is the only work here that allows the very people living behind these political walls to speak. Indeed, "Lines of Control" may just be a bit too contemplative for the casual visitor and not emotive enough for those with a keen interest in its core themes.
When someone knocks over a part of "No. 163", it is returned to its precisely measured place, as if to suggest that anything otherwise is too astonishing to consider. You will find no colouring over the lines here.
By Tommy Wong
Lines of Control is at Green Cardamom, 5a Porchester Place, London W2 (ooh right by Colbeh) until 27 March 2009
