Art and activism co-exist in Chila Burman’s works

The London-based British Punjabi artist’s multi-media exhibits are piercing ecplorations of class and race...
A walk through the spartanly decorated corridors of a former warehouse in Hackney, East London, can end in a blaze of colour and sparkle, as one enters the working studio of British Punjabi artist Chila Kumari Burman. The small room with a massive window streaming in the sunshine, is tightly packed with her pieces, reflecting more than three decades of her work as one of Britain’s leading activist, and experimental BME artists — from self portraits parodying portrayals of South Asian women in Britain to warming memories of her childhood in the blustery northern port city of Liverpool to angry political reflections on the states of global politics.