The Wall Street Journal’s Scene Asia blog spoke to Ranjit Hoskote about his picks for India’s first-ever Venice Biennale that opens in early June:

The goal of the India pavilion, said Mr. Hoskote, is to “critique the idea of the nation-state as something unitary or territorial.” The 42-year-old independent curator, critic and poet recently has divided his time between India, Germany and the Netherlands.

His lineup will include Zarina Hashmi, a veteran printmaker, long based in New York, whose minimalist works tend to explore spatial boundaries. Kerala-born artist Gigi Scaria, now based in Delhi, poses questions about displacement and class prejudice in his installations, videos and photography. Then there’s Praneet Soi, who divides his time between Calcutta and Amsterdam and produces politically charged paintings and sculptures on war and other global issues.

Mr. Hoskote has also picked talent from Assam in India’s often-neglected northeast region to represent the country in Venice. The Desire Machine Collective runs an alternative art space on a ferry and experiments with such works as a “sound map” inspired by a sacred forest.

India Heads to the Venice Biennale (Scene Asia/Wall Street Journal)