Yashpaul0 at 02:52, 28 February 2026

2026-02-28T02:52:23Z

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{{Short description|Indian artist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Baaraan Ijlal
| image = Baaraan Ijlal.jpg
| caption = Baaraan Ijlal in 2023
| birth_place = Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
| occupation = Artist
| known_for = Visual Arts, Sound Art
| notable_works = Diary Entries (2020-); Hostile Witness (2014-); Change Room (2018-); Coal Couture (2018); Silent Minarets, Whispering Winds (2015-16); BirdBox (2016)
}}

'''Baaraan Ijlal''' is a self-taught artist based in [[New Delhi|New Delhi, India]]. She was born and educated in [[Bhopal]], doing her Masters in English Literature. Through her work, she seeks to explore the themes of [[anonymity]] and individual [[liberty]] as to how anonymity serves as a cornerstone for [[Personal Freedom|personal freedom]]. This is punctuated by a dedicated focus on creating an atmosphere of attentive listening that invites viewers to become witnesses to the untold stories inhabiting her creations. Her artistic mediums include acrylic paint, sound, video, light, embroidery, galvanized iron, resin installations, among others. Her work has been prominently featured in solo exhibitions and collaborative showcases. It includes expositions and installations at prominent art galleries and museums such as the [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya]] and [[Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation]] at [[Mumbai]], Kiran Nadar Museum of Art at New Delhi, [[Kadist|KADIST Arts]] at [[Paris]], [[Conflictorium]] Museum at [[Ahmedabad]], the Devi Art Foundation, Colomboscope at [[Colombo]], [[India Art Fair]], [[Art Dubai]], Art Singapore, Chintretsukan Gallery at the [[Tokyo University of the Arts]], and other public spaces.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Artists - Baaraan Ijlal - Bio |url=https://www.shrineempiregallery.com/artist/baaraan-ijlal/9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127212712/https://www.shrineempiregallery.com/artist/baaraan-ijlal/ |archive-date=27 January 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Shrine Empire Gallery}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=11 October 2021 |title=Recording SIlence: Baaraan Ijlal |url=https://indiaartfair.in/recording-silence-baaraan-ijlal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224140/https://indiaartfair.in/recording-silence-baaraan-ijlal |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[India Art Fair]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rajendran |first=Anushka |date=16 December 2021 |title=Listening for change: Baaraan Ijlal's practice of collecting stories |url=https://www.4a.com.au/articles/baaraan-ijlal-practice-anushka-rajendran |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240610-025230/https://4a.com.au/articles/baaraan-ijlal-practice-anushka-rajendran |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=26 September 2023 |website=[[4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Works==
Baaraan Ijlal has experimented with various mediums over the years. Her first major exhibition, titled ''Retellings'', displayed thirty of her major paintings from two of her series, ''Stitched Wings'' and ''To Be Continued''. Installations from ''House of Commons (2010)'' consisting of [[almirah]]s were displayed that were "painted from inside to outside, with figures painted in specific landscapes." These are imagined as houses that would allow an imagining of personal and intimate spaces of "common people."<ref name=":0" />

''Diary Entries (2020–present''), is an ongoing series of paintings chronicling the everyday moments that carry the import of loss and violence. ''Locust Eaten Moon'' (2020–) serialized as a part of ''Diary Entries'', is described in the concept art as the "visual archives of the [[moon]], of the [[Self]], and of the passing time. These entries mark the everyday and the extraordinary, to make a note of a particular loss or act of resistance in a specific moment in the historic sequence of our time on this planet."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maddox |first=Georgina |date=24 May 2021 |title=Reaching Out From the Interior - In Touch Edition 6 Part 1 |url=https://www.mashindia.com/reaching-out-from-the-interior-in-touch-edition-6-part-i/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224138/https://www.mashindia.com/reaching-out-from-the-interior-in-touch-edition-6-part-i/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=My Art Shalini (MASH) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=29 June 2021 |title=Digital platform for artists and collectors |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/delhi/2021/Jun/29/digital-platform-for-artists-and-collectors-2322787.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224137/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2021/jun/29/digital-platform-for-artists-and-collectors-2322787.html |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[The New Indian Express]] |language=en}}</ref> Another series, ''Mourners and Witnesses'' ''(2021-),'' described as a "narrative of loss and violence," are conceptualized as visual diary entries through Baaraan's paintings. Structures and sculptures in wood were designed by Moonis Ijlal, a frequent collaborator.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artists - Baaraan Ijlal - Mourners and Witnesses |url=https://www.shrineempiregallery.com/project/mourners-and-witnesses-3/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224137/https://www.shrineempiregallery.com/project/mourners-and-witnesses-3/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Shrine Empire Gallery}}</ref>

''Hostile Witness (2014–present)''<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Dastidar |first=Riddhi |date=3 December 2021 |title=Through 'Hostile Witness', artist Baaraan Ijlal is resisting erasure before the seas drown us |url=https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/through-hostile-witness-artist-baaraan-ijlal-is-resisting-erasure-before-the-seas-drown-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224137/https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/through-hostile-witness-artist-baaraan-ijlal-is-resisting-erasure-before-the-seas-drown-us |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[Vogue India]] |language=en-IN}}</ref> is an ongoing series on silenced narratives. It "explores the lasting phenomenon of mute spectatorship and its normalization at the expense of extreme violence." It was brought to life by listening to people's narratives between 2014 and 2019 around specific sites in Bhopal, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Varanasi and painting the details into the canvas. Baaraan collaborated with Moonis Ijlal to further develop pictographic alphabets. Moonis also designed the wooden structures and [[sculpture]]s for the series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bhullar |first=Dilpreet |date=14 February 2022 |title=Of witnessing and listening: Baaraan Ijlal's art accepts the past to bequeath empathy |url=https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-of-witnessing-and-listening-baaraan-ijlal-s-art-accepts-the-past-to-bequeath-empathy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224138/https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-of-witnessing-and-listening-baaraan-ijlal-s-art-accepts-the-past-to-bequeath-empathy |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2023 |website=Stir World |language=English}}</ref> ''Hostile Witness'' seamlessly weaves fantastic creatures with factual details to create living records of human activity and their involvement with historical events.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Bhuyan |first=Avantika |date=4 December 2021 |title=Baaraan Ijlal's work stands witness to everyday erasures |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com//how-to-lounge/art-culture/baaraan-ijlal-s-work-stands-witness-to-everyday-erasures-111638514207905.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516073520/https://lifestyle.livemint.com/how-to-lounge/art-culture/baaraan-ijlal-s-work-stands-witness-to-everyday-erasures-111638514207905.html |archive-date=16 May 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalra |first=Vandana |date=5 December 2021 |title=Artists Baaraan Ijlal and Moonis Ijlal's layered works share untold stories |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/artists-baaraan-ijlal-and-moonis-ijlals-layered-works-share-untold-stories-7656983/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224141/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/artists-baaraan-ijlal-and-moonis-ijlals-layered-works-share-untold-stories-7656983/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[The Indian Express]] |language=en}}</ref> It was the Arte Laguna Prize Finalist held in Venice (November 2024).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baaraan Ijlal: Hostile Witness |url=https://brooklynrail.org/2024/07/criticspage/Baaraan-Ijlal-Hostile-Witness/ |website=The Brooklyn Rail|date=26 August 2024 }}</ref>

The latest series in the Hostile Witness series, titled ''The Partition Chapter'' (Between Dusk and Dawn: Women, Land, and Borders) focuses on the tragedy of the [[Partition of India|partition]]. As per the concept art, “the partition of a land is not a singular event confined to the past, but a living, breathing force that continues to reverberate, leaving its mark in the dissonant rhythms of divided lives and violent reconfigurations of power. The sky holds within it the tremors of these upheavals: a canvas for both hope and despair, for reckoning and restitution.” It served as part of the ''Collisions'' exhibition at People’s Hall, London (October 2024).<ref>{{Cite web |title=IndiaArtFair-Collisions |url=https://indiaartfair.in/programme/collisions-group-show}}</ref>

''Change Room (2018–present)'' is a traveling sound installation of voices of people sharing their fears, apprehensions, desires, and finding perspective through telling, listening and witnessing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 August 2021 |title=Change Room |url=https://changeroomarchives.art/change-room/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224137/https://changeroomarchives.art/change-room/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Change Room Archives |language=en-US}}</ref> The concept art notes that "this sound installation is conceptualized as an open channel of voices telling their stories anonymously, with the artist as the witness. Those who have recorded their stories with artists as witnesses include students, nomads, climate refugees, and war refugees, to name a few. The viewers walk into a room with the prerecorded conversations playing. They can then opt to record their own reflections, which are then added to the audio being played. Thus, the installation grows on site."<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gupta |first=Monobina |date=9 June 2018 |title=Interview: The Art of Listening to Conversations |url=https://thewire.in/the-arts/baaraan-ijlal-interview-change-room |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224137/https://thewire.in/the-arts/baaraan-ijlal-interview-change-room |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bouissou |first=Julien |date=5 April 2019 |title=La « Change Room » de l'artiste Baaraan Ijlal sonde les peurs des Indiens |trans-title=The 'Change Room' by the artist Baaraan Ijlal probes the fears of the Indians |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/04/05/la-change-room-de-l-artiste-baaraan-ijlal-sonde-les-peurs-des-indiens_5446033_3232.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415115016/https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/04/05/la-change-room-de-l-artiste-baaraan-ijlal-sonde-les-peurs-des-indiens_5446033_3232.html |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=[[Le Monde]] |language=fr}}</ref> It led to the creation of ''Change Room Archives'' that features the voices of people who have gone on record, anonymously, at the ''Change Room'' art installations around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the Change Room Archives |url=https://changeroomarchives.art/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240610-040502/https://changeroomarchives.art/ |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Change Room Archives |language=en-US |type=Welcome page with embedded video}}</ref> Some select exhibitions include those at Khoj International Artists Association (2023), Chintretsukan Gallery, Tokyo (2019), CREA re-conference, Kathmandu (2019), Conflictorium Museum, Ahmedabad (2018), TENT Arts Space, Kolkata (2018).

''Coal Couture (2018)'' was launched at the World Health Organization's First Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health (2018) in Geneva.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=30 October 2018 |title=Coal Couture - a photo essay |url=https://carboncopy.info/coal-couture-a-photo-essay/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240610-040915/https://carboncopy.info/coal-couture-a-photo-essay/ |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Carbon Copy |language=en-US}}</ref> It is imagined as “a mock brand of luxury luggage made as a coveted couture object manufactured to meet the specific requirements of the few” in colonized regimes, exposing the larger population in those endangered areas to various evils. It does so by poignantly showcasing five objects belonging to children from across the world, highlighting their vulnerability and health risks in a precarious world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2020 |title=Baaraan Ijlal {{!}} Spotlight |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSt9Ppn4McI |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240610-041209/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSt9Ppn4McI |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |publisher=Mir Ijlal Shaani |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

''BirdBox (2016)'' is conceptualized as a portable bioscope that merges audio and video to recreate crucial moments from a woman's life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Catherine Rhea |date=13 December 2016 |title=Wind Beneath Her Wings |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/wind-beneath-her-wings-sound-video-installation-girl-rights-condition-ngo-4423965/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224138/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/wind-beneath-her-wings-sound-video-installation-girl-rights-condition-ngo-4423965/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[The Indian Express]] |language=en}}</ref> The concept art notes that "a reimagined bioscope, ''Birdbox'' is a traveling audio-video installation involving young girls from north Indian villages and towns mass viewing and ruminating anonymously over images of high and pop art representing young women, from the sculpture of the Indus Valley girl to Amrita Shergil, nudes, and Hindi film songs. ''Birdbox'' suspends us for a fraction of time into how the world looks, feels, sounds, and feels from a girl's perspective."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chaudhuri |first=Zinnia Ray |date=1 December 2016 |title=What does the young Indian girl really, really want? |url=http://scroll.in/article/822756/what-does-the-young-indian-girl-really-really-want |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224137/https://scroll.in/article/822756/what-does-the-young-indian-girl-really-really-want |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[Scroll.in]] |language=en}}</ref>

''Silent Minarets, Whispering Winds (2015–16),'' a ten-foot artwork installed at the T2 terminal of the [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport|Mumbai International Airport]], epitomizes a village in [[Uttar Pradesh]] well known for its textile work. The representational objects are "letters" written by forty women embroiderers to themselves, articulating their deepest feelings.<ref name=":2" /> As the notes from the concept art of ''Silent Minarets, Whispering Winds'' mention, "[with] these letters as a base, the conversations between the artist and embroiderers flow. The conversations range from women making inquiries into tradition, their place in the village, home, and financial independence." Or, in the words of the artist, "the glowing minarets mark the silent revolution by these women embroiderers as they stitch along towards a dignified future for themselves."<ref>{{Cite web |last=A |first=Divya |date=19 September 2015 |title=Between the Needles and Nightfall |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/between-the-needles-and-nightfall/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007224138/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/between-the-needles-and-nightfall/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[The Indian Express]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Awards and Recognitions ==

* Artist-in-Residence – Sharjah Art Foundation for Separation Songs (2025)
* Finalist, Arte Laguna Award (2024)
* Critical Voice of the Year Award, Hello! India Art Awards (2022)
* Artist-in-Residence – Conflictorium Museum, Ahmedabad (2018)
* Artist-in-Residence – Sanskriti Kendra, New Delhi (2013)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
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[[Category:21st-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:Indian contemporary painters]]
[[Category:Sound artists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women painters]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women painters]]

Baaraan Ijlal - Revision history

Yashpaul0 at 02:52, 28 February 2026