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Interview "54th Venice Biennale: Zarina Hashmi (India)" ART iT. June 2011 LUHRING AUGUSTINE 531 West 24th Street New York NY 100II tel 212 206 9100 fax 212 206 9055 www.luhringaugustine.com [Image] Installation view of Home is a Foreign Place (1999) in "Everybody Agrees: It's About to Explode," Indian Pavillion at the 54th Venice Biennale, Arsenale, Venice, 2011. Portfolio of 36 woodcuts with Urdu text printed in black on Kozo paper, mounted on Somerset paper, ed 25, approx 45 x 37.5 cm each, framed. Photo ART iT. Zarina Hashmi was born in 1937 in Aligarh, British India, and is currently based in New York. Distinguished by their evocative sense of materiality, her works in paper and sculpture often combine minimalist, schematic elements with references of deep personal significance. She has been selected as one of four artists and artist groups to represent India in its first official representation at the Venice Biennale, in the exhibition "Everyone Agrees: It's About to Explode," curated by Ranjit Hoskote. ART iT corresponded with Zarina to discuss what it means for her to represent India at Venice and her unique perspective on issues of nationality and belonging. Interview: ART iT: You lived through the Partition of India but have also spent much of your adulthood in countries ranging from France, Thailand and Japan to the US. How do you feel about being one of the artists selected for India's first official representation at Venice?