(Above) Resurgent Peacock, mixed media installation by Val Hunt. Courtesy HMAG

Exhibition: Indian Summer at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, until December 6 2009

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery will be experiencing an Indian Summer over the next three months as vibrant historic and contemporary artworks from India take over their exhibition galleries.

Water Buffalo (Yama's Steed), hand-carved gilded skull by Russell Webb. Courtesy HMAG

The small exhibitions gallery will be offering visitors the chance to view a display of 21 Indian Miniature paintings, on loan from the Sainsbury Centre for visual art in Norwich.

Spanning a period of two centuries between 1650 and 1850, the pieces cover a huge range of subjects, from studies of animals and illustrations of Hindu sacred texts to pictures of rulers and court celebrations.

Kipling's study, Kodak archival inkjet print by Martin Everett. Courtesy HMAG

In contrast to traditional pieces in the small gallery, the large gallery features work by some dynamic and exciting contemporary artists whose inspiration includes traditional motifs and legends, orientalism, collecting and both Hindu and Muslim heritage.

Highlights include an enormous wall mounted sculpture of a peacock fashioned from tin can and metal, a hand-carved, gilded Indian Buffalo skull and a series of large scale photographs paying homage to Rudyard Kipling's home at Batemans in East Sussex.

For more information on the exhibition and Hastings Museum and Art Gallery follow the details below.

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