The Singh Twins painting Arts Matters - The Pool of Life. Commissioned by Liverpool City Council, 2008.

Sister Act

The Singh Twins are among the most popular artists of Indian origin working in Great Britain. Re-vitalising the miniature and exploring the decorative through their paintings, they have now turned to making animation films and documentaries. Here, they speak clearly and concisely about identity politics to Abhay Sardesai.

ABHAY SARDESAI.: ALL OF US POSSESS SEVERAL SIMULTANEOUS identities, some of which militate against or complement each other. As celebrated British Women Artists belonging to the Indian Diaspora, do you feel that in the last three years certain crucial identity-propositions have gained in prominence? Especially those related to location and religion? I ask this keeping in mind some facts - your animation film last year was about The Making of Liverpool (2008) and you have been felicitated by the city as important citizen artists [the Honorary Scouser Award (2009) and the Liverpool Art Prize: People's Award (2008)]. You have also chosen to re-visit the traumas experienced by the Sikhs in the '80s yet again in your short film, Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Via Dolorosa Project (2006).

The Singh Twins: Culturally and emotionally, we have always considered ourselves to be Indians and Sikhs first. British second - and only by virtue of the fact that we were born in London. Our Indianness has been the singlemost important influence on our work and an aspect of our dual identity, which comes through most strongly in the style we have developed, regardless of the diverse themes we explore. Because of that style, there is a tendency of the western establishment to pigeonhole us into the 'ethnic' box. A major UK TV network once openly declared that we were too culturally different to be considered alongside other entrants in the final stage of a national art competition it was hosting and certain galleries seem to think they need some kind of 'celebration of India' to show our work. But, as artists, we have learnt to exploit this narrow cultural viewing of our work - making the most of the opportunities which present themselves and creating artistic initiatives which play on the 'ethnic' perception of our work, whilst asserting our identity as British Contemporary mainstream artists without compromising our style or identity as Indian Sikhs.

Although we have always had a personal and creative connection with the Liverpool area where we subsequently moved and have spent most of our lives (studying at the University and representing Liverpool in our art and at international art exchanges), we never felt any emotional attachment to the city. But in the last three years, we were commissioned by the City Council to create two paintings (Liverpool 800: The Changing Face of Liverpool and Arts Matters: The Pool of Life) as part of the city's official celebrations as the nominated European Capital of Culture. The research for these works instilled in us a genuine sense of pride for the city to such an extent, that we decided to bring its rich heritage and achievements to a wider audience - creating an animated history of Liverpool, titled, The Making of Liverpool. The significant recognition we have received specifically from the Liverpool public and the regional media for these recent projects has heightened our sense of belonging to the city. It's a change of attitude towards our region that stems not just from the accolades we have received but from the feeling that as artists we have left a permanent imprint on the cultural life and heritage of the city. This is part of creating an artistic legacy, which stakes a claim in British art and culture, for the Indian Diaspora communities in a very visible way and on its own terms.