Talwar Gallery is pleased to announce Notes from Afar, an exhibition which brings into conversation two expansive works by Allan deSouza. On view is The World Series, a body of photographs the artist created in response to Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, and a new video work, Ark of Martyrs, inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. Both series refer to historical texts and use techniques of dictation and translation to arrive at entirely different and independent works, which can still, however, be tracked back to their sources.

The World Series, inspired by Lawrence’s iconic 1941 series, engages with the experience of life in an increasingly globalizing world. While Lawrence’s paintings document the specific migration of African Americans from the South to Northern cities, deSouza presents a visual “script” for a fictional migration to becoming American, seen through the signage and psychology of metaphorical and political sites. Adhering by way of a resurfacing wit, deSouza’s photographs depict a world characterized by ambiguity and jarring disorientation.