The exhibition begins in a marigold-hued corridor with works on paper: watercolour collages whose subjects include self-portraits, wild animals, flowers, fruits, and the likenesses of Frida Kahlo and Oscar Wilde. Opposite is Southall: Childplay<\/em> (2009), a ten-metre-long photograph revealing a rainbow of used coloured pencils from Dhaliwal\u2019s collection. A prologue of sorts, this introductory hallway holds the promise of what viewers can expect in the remainder of the exhibition: all things vibrant, playful, and steeped in narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born in India in 1953 and later immigrating to England as a child, Dhaliwal and her family moved again, to rural Ontario, when she was a teenager. Like a photo album, some of the works evoke memories from places visited, lived, or passed through. Indian Billboard<\/em> (2000) recalls a trip to Bangalore during which Dhaliwal saw a feminist billboard with the tag line \u201cIs Your Husband Worth the Money You Paid For Him?\u201d A playful dissonance is expanded upon in Dhaliwal\u2019s decision to write the billboards\u2019 texts backwards, since she cannot read Hindi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In two of Dhaliwal\u2019s works, cultural tensions are exposed further. A crimson grid of over five hundred women from engagement announcements published in The New York Times<\/em> from 1989 to 1992, Hey Hey Paula <\/em>(1998) questions heteronormative North American stances toward marriage. When viewers pick up the matching rotary telephone in the centre of the exhibition space, the 1963 American pop song of the same name plays on loop. On the opposite wall hangs The First Wedding<\/em> (2023), in which she uses embroidered text on salvaged Indian cotton to recall the arranged wedding of her cousin\u200a\u2014\u200athe first she attended as a child\u200a\u2014\u200aand her complicated feelings about the custom. Together, these works demonstrate how contrasting cultures stir up similar criticisms on matrimonial practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proving the manifold potential of imagination, The green fairy storybook<\/em> (2009) summarizes the exhibition\u2019s central themes. Over a dozen handmade books upon a wooden desk refer to the colour-coded volumes that Dhaliwal read as a child in England\u200a\u2014\u200amuch to the chagrin of her mother, who believed that reading was a lazy pastime. Through these paperbound tomes sourced from an Indian factory, Dhaliwal merges objects from her childhood in England and India. In golden script along the spines of the books, Dhaliwal tells a story about how she learned to read, and the love of books and knowledge that followed. Highlighting the necessity of the personal, this retrospective is a reminder to embrace a childlike sense of wonder. When we grow up, we can become more than a product of our past, sharing our stories in swaths of vivid colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An artist, writer, and cultural worker based in Tiohti\u00e1:ke\/Mooniyang\/Montr\u00e9al, Austin Henderson holds an MA in art history from Concordia University. His work is attentive to community-based practices, queer activism, and popular visual culture, and he has recently contributed to Esse arts + opinions <\/em>and Visual Arts News<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"SarindarDhaliwal\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/110_CR_Henderson_Sarindar-Dhaliwal_SouthallChildplaydetail_2009.jpg\")
Southall: Childplay <\/em>(detail), 2009.
Photo: courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"SarindarDhaliwal\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/110_CR_Henderson_Sarindar-Dhaliwal_IndianBillboard_2000.jpg\")
Indian Billboard<\/em>, 2000.
Photo: courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"SarindarDhaliwal\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/110_CR_Henderson_Sarindar-Dhaliwal_WhenIgrowupIwanttobeanamerofpaintcolours_2010.jpg\")
When I grow up I want to be a namer of paint colours<\/em>, 2010.
Photo: courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n