Another chance to see the Parampara Portraits exhibition - a unique series of portraits by Manchester based artist J Chuhan. In January 2003, she was commissioned to paint portraits of key British South Asians who are providing motivation and inspiration for others. These paintings promote non-stereotypical perceptions, and in her catalogue essay Dr Julie Sheldon writes of ‘a real visceral quality of paint in Chuhan’s work that singles out her handling of textures and marks her animation of flesh…’

Ground-breaking contributions to British life by people from the South Asian diaspora, rarely reflected in Western art exhibitions or collections, are exemplified in portraits of ‘celebrities’ from different walks of life. The subjects featured are:

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown MBE, (journalist, The Independent newspaper), Mina Anwar (TV actress – A Thin Blue Line), Nighat and Rafique Awan (Owners of Shere Khan Restaurants chain), Dr Aneez Esmail, (doctor/lecturer, race equality campaigner, Senior Advisor on the Shipman case), Shobna Gulati (TV actress – Coronation Street), Fareda Khan (Deputy Director of SHISHA), Alnoor Mitha (Director of SHISHA), Jimmy Mistry (film actor – East is East, The Guru), Meena Pathak (OBE, Director of Patak’s Foods), So Rahman (Granada TV News presenter), Sunetra Sarker (TV actress – No Angels, Brookside) and Baroness Pola Uddin (politician, House of Lords).

Portrait painting has historically been used to depict notions of celebrity, as a pictorial study of physiognomy and as an expression of social and political position. The idea of the British/South Asian character has changed, with a growing sense of confidence and integration in many areas of life. However, there are few paintings of people from South Asia and its’ diaspora within Western art collections, despite the prominence of this diaspora within British culture as a whole. Parampara Portraits presents an unprecedented body of material, towards greater inclusion of the British South Asian experience in long-term cultural resources.

Parampara in Sanskrit means tradition; to follow from one to another in a kind of chain reaction across generations. This continuity is reflected in the evolution of the community as depicted by the choice of subjects and the confluence of western and eastern aesthetics in the style of painting. Parampara Portraits, curated by Shuma Pal and Meg Lewis-Crosby, launched the Shisha Parampara solo exhibitions series in collaboration with Tameside Museums & Galleries, and is supported by Arts Council England North West, Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, Liverpool School of Art & Design and the Arts and Humanities Research Board.

ABOUT PROFESSOR J CHUHAN

J Chuhan is an artist and Professor of International Art at Liverpool John Moores University. She was awarded the 2004 Windrush Arts Achievement Award. Her work has been exhibited in Italy, Sweden, Belgium, China, Singapore, Ireland and UK venues including Tate Liverpool; Barbican Centre, London; Arnolfini, Bristol and in solo exhibitions including at Ikon, Birmingham and recently at The Lowry, Salford, 2002-03. Her paintings are in held in several collections including the Arts Council Collection, University of Liverpool Art Collection, Usher Gallery, Lincoln and Cartwright Hall, Bradford.

Her new exhibition, 'Journeys' will be at the Cartwright Hall, Bradford from 4 December 2004 – 6 February 2005.

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