London born twin sisters Amrit and Rabindra are contemporary British artists of
International standing whose award winning paintings have been acknowledged as
constituting a unique genre in British Art and for initiating a new movement in the
revival of the Indian miniature tradition within modern art practice. Describing their
work as Past - Modern (as opposed to Post Modern), their work engages with
important areas of critical debate - challenging existing stereotypes and redefining
generally accepted, narrow perceptions of heritage and identity in art and society.
Combining elements from Western and Eastern aesthetics they assert the value of
traditional and non European art forms to the continuing development of
Contemporary Art practice - exploring cultural, social and political issues of global
significance within a highly decorative, often witty and symbolic style which has
universal appeal and transcends cultural barriers.
With paintings in private and public collections world wide the Singh Twins continue to be
invited to speak on their work at institutions such as the Tate Gallery, London; The Art
Gallery of Ontario, Canada; The National Museum of Modern Art in Delhi and Mumbai; the
University of California, Santa Barbara and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. At the
same time a significant interest from academics, individual art students and University
research graduates has resulted in their work being incorporated into the Open University
syllabus and other sectors of Britain’s formal education system.
Two fine art books, Twin Perspectives and Worlds A-Part have been published on their work.
In addition they are profiled in numerous main stream arts journals and publications including
the Penguin History of Scotland, The Oxford History of Art:Portraiture, The National Portrait
Gallery’s The Portraiture Now and Marg Publication’s New Insights into Sikh Art.
Attracting International media attention, Radio and Television appearances include
interviews for the BBC’s Womens’ Hour, Mid Week, Front Row and Belief; CBC’s Here And
Now and the Granada TV documentary Singh Out Sisters. An independently commissioned
Arts Council film about their work, ‘Alone Together’, received 'The Best Film on Art' prize at
the 2001 Asolo International Film Festival. In the same year they were short-listed for the
Asian Women of Achievement Awards (in the category of Arts & Culture) and in 2002 were
appointed official Artists in Residence to the Manchester Commonwealth Games. The work
they produced in response to the Games gained international publicity and was featured as a
question on the popular TV quiz show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?
In 2002 their Arts Council England, British Council and Air Indian sponsored solo India tour
was launched at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi - making them the only
British artists (besides Henry Moore) to have been offered a solo show at this, one of India’s
foremost venues for Contemporary Art. In 2003 their work toured USA and Canada and they
currently have works on loan to the Smithsonian Institute Washington.
In 2005 a major retrospective of the vast body of work they have created since 1987 was
hosted by one of Britain’s prestigious National Galleries, The Walker, in their home city of
Liverpool.
Future plans include a South Pacific tour of their work including New Zealand, Australia,
Singapore & Thailand.
In 2006 The Singh Twins were commissioned by Liverpool Culture Company to create two
paintings for permanent public display to celebrate Liverpool’s 800th birthday in 2007 and its
status as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
The Singh Twins are also published authors and film makers. Their writing includes books
such as Bindhu’s Weddings and Images of Freedom as well as numerous articles for
magazines, journals and websites both in the UK and abroad.
In 2006 they completed their first film, Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Via Dolorosa Project – a
short documentary on the making of one of their most famous works, Nineteen Eighty Four,
which has been screened at film festivals internationally.
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