Starting from the fragile and complex socio-political relationship between India and Pakistan in the era of contemporary warfare, ‘I don’t want to be there when it happens’ investigates, in a broader sense, the psychology of trauma. The artists invited to participate in this exhibition reference unpleasant situations; from their own everyday experience of the contradictions and problems they face in their personal universe to the alarming signals of the profound existential unease of our age.’I don’t want to be there when it happens’ explores the relationship between art practice and trauma, loss and grief. It is an examination of what art can contribute in the aftermath of such experiences, of how it can produce meaning and discourse through the act of engagement. The exhibition is organised in partnership with 4A Center for Contemporary Asian Art and expanded on the occasion of its presentation at PICA.