Hawala: Curated by Shezad Dawood

Hawala takes as its starting point the parallels between the eponymous informal, decentralised, and ledger-based system of money exchange prevalent in South Asia and its diasporic communities, and the structure and functionality of blockchain technology. The show brings together a group of London-based artists of South Asian descent, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Shezad Dawood, Sunil Gupta, Haroun Hayward, Harminder Judge, Jasleen Kaur, Haroon Mirza, Anousha Payne, and Rithika Pandey, selected to highlight hyperlinked connections that run throughout their practice, either through a contemporary updating of mythic constellations, or an archiving of subcultures or ecologies. 

Across painting, photography, sculpture, clothing, and a metaverse counterpart – to be launched and sold as an NFT in October as part of the show – Hawala will function as an IRL and digital marketplace that harnesses collective agency and energy. The exhibition reveals the ever-dynamic nature of these conversations between thematics and objects. Comprising paintings, sculptures, prints, neon works, and clothing, the display will morph and mutate over its run, with works being added and subtracted over time.

Alongside the IRL show, Paradise Row Projects / UBIK Productions present The Mangrove Institute of Contemporary Art (MICA), which will be exhibited in Paradise Row Project’s land in Somnium Space, a leading metaverse platform. Built within a mangrove swamp, MICA is a bespoke exhibition space referencing the history of Modernist architecture in South Asia. Artworks will be exhibited in the mangrove landscape and the dedicated gallery space.

In an act that will be repeated with each show in its year-long programme, Paradise Row Projects invited the curator and artists to select the NGOs that will benefit from the show. Accordingly, both Hawala and MICA will raise funds for two ecologically focused charities: Conservation Action Trust, India, and WWF Pakistan. Participating artists and Paradise Row Projects will donate 20% of each sale of IRL work to the NGOs. Additionally, Paradise Row Projects, a registered Community Interest Company, will be donating all profits from the IRL exhibition to the NGOs. 

With thanks to Hales, Indigo + Madder, Copperfield, and Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop.