Borders and Invisible Violence in the Artworks of Shilpa Gupta and Reena Saini Kallat

Borders are the lines which separate two area or country often create violence not only through war and conflict but also through everyday control, separation, and exclusion. This paper studies how contemporary Indian artists Shilpa Gupta and Reena Saini Kallat explore the idea of borders and invisible violence in their artworks. Instead of showing violence in a direct or physical way, both artists focus on invisible forms of violence created by borders, such as separation, control, fear, and loss. Both of them use mediums like installation, sound, text, and mixed media, they explore how political borders affect human lives, memories, and movements. This research paper primarily focuses on borders and invisible violence related to Shilpa Gupta’s artwork “100 Hand drawn maps of my country” and Reena Saini Kallat’s artwork “Woven Chronicle”. Both artworks show the tension and conflicts through political borders and these invisible forces deeply affect how people experience identity and belonging.