Inequality, often perceived narrowly as economic differences and reduced to notions of poverty, has multiple dimensions and assumes many faces. It can entail not only differences between levels of wealth, but it can also include variances between the social status of groups; imbalances in access to education, health, justice; differentiated capacity for individuals and groups to influence political decision-making processes; discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, race and religion; unevenness in access to natural resources and benefits from their exploitation; exposure to pollution and risks; as well as differences in access and contribution to types of knowledge. GRIP, being an interdisciplinary and experimental research programme, examines the different understandings of inequality in various contexts and works to illuminate its many forms and shapes.
Through an open call GRIP invited visual artists from across the world to submit their proposals for our “Imaging Inequality” project. The six final applicants – Alice Christel Penda, Mabel Llevat, Rishi Jha, Mohammad Rakibul Hasan, Avijit Ghosh and Nseabasi Akpan – have been chosen by a committee consisting of Kerry Chance, Alfredo Brillembourg and Liana Ivete Benke. They are all chosen due to the high quality of their project submission and their highlighting of various dimensions of inequality, using perspectives and insights that reflect inequality in diverse global contexts. We greatly look forward to working with these talented visual artists, and extend our gratitude to the committee for their excellent work.
The works in this exhibition range from digital art reflecting upon capitalism and colonial legacy, to intimate portraits of LGBTH people, explorations of the life of vulnerable urban populations, and artistic reflections on the inequality and stigmatization of migrant women.
We very much hope this exhibition will shed light on the inequalities that people experience around the world, and provide inspiration and room for further discussion on how we can eradicate inequality.
Follow the links below to see each of the projects: