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Kolkata exhibition to focus on migration

Italian artist Pietro Ruffo working on his artwork at the Indian Museum in Kolkata.

Italian artist Pietro Ruffo working on his artwork at the Indian Museum in Kolkata.  

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Exhibition at Indian Museum from Nov. 16

A Buddha statue in Bhumisparsha Mudra (earth touching position) from Myanmar, a Rabab (string instrument) from Afghanistan, a boat from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and many more such artefacts, along with more than 20 installations by Italian artist Pietro Ruffo, will bring together the history of migrations across centuries at a newly curated exhibition at the Indian Museum here.

Mr. Ruffo’s artworks present cartographic drawings on large maps of continents and countries superimposed with images of migrating people. “Migration is a complex phenomenon, something which we have been grappling not for one or two centuries but a human activity since prehistoric times,” the artist told The Hindu.

“Along with Mr. Ruffo’s artworks we are putting together hundreds of artefacts from the ethnographic collections of Indian Museum. Each artefact tells a story of migration as a human activity,” said Museum director Rajesh Purohit.