overview
In December 2014, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art will present the first museum exhibition showcasing Narayan Mahon’s photographic journey through the unrecognized countries of Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, Transnistria, Nagorno Karabakh, and Somaliland. With a selection of photographs from each of the artist’s five geographically-based series, Narayan Mahon: Lands in Limbo explores the day-to-day realities of living in countries that remain unacknowledged by the larger international community. Mahon calls attention to complex geopolitical realities, while simultaneously giving poetic image to the human condition. He artfully captures the experiences of individuals grappling with matters of cultural and ethnic identity, economic devastation, and self-determination in the face of extreme international isolation. In doing so, he raises timely questions about the meaning of national sovereignty in the increasingly globalized world of the twenty-first century, and contributes to the ongoing dialogue about the role of documentary photography in contemporary art.
