Black Box theatre space, Ambedkar University, New Delhi
2016
Mixed media, Cloth, Gypsum, Canvas, Paper, Inkjet print, Video, Glass, Charcoal, Tab, Distemper, Cement, Mud
Dimensions variable
Once a thriving theatre room, I discovered a space half-burnt and shrouded in dust. Over the course of fifteen days, I endeavored to reposition diverse materials—each with its own fusibility—and to redistribute spectacles in varying sizes, textures, words, volumes, and mediums. The spectacle was meant to evolve into an imaginative visual dictionary, where my core idea could unfurl in a non-linear, phenomenological manner. The visual regime of the eye is disrupted, allowing us to enter or exit the work with layers set both historically and politically.
The curatorial steered my thoughts in two distinct directions: one, the painting-based practice I have nurtured over the years; and two, the transformative perspectives I encountered during the past two years within an educational institution—perspectives that provoked my inquiries into the notion of the ‘collective.’ I sought to unfold the historical essence of collectivity and its modes in our contemporary era, addressing these themes through what I call a pragmatic ‘critique of critique.’
Simultaneously, video, audio, and written documentation captured interviews and interactions with practitioners, contemporary artists, activists, theoreticians, and academics—each contributing impressions of collectivity gathered over the past year. These surface and sub-surface engagements culminated in a panel discussion, where I invited five practitioners, to whom I share both artistic and political affinity, to exchange their praxis, ideas, and experiences. Their presence sparked new modes of conversation and confrontation with the display—for both myself and the audience.
Shivangi Mariam Raj, Sandip K Luis, Rajrani Kumari, Avik Debdas, Pronobes Karmakar, Tumpa Chakraborty, Nikhil K C, Kaushal Sapre, Nitish Arora, Sambaran Das, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Samudra Kajal Saikia, Dhrupadi Ghosh, Atul Bhalla, Avro, Sanjay Kak, Amit Kumar, Alex, Salvin V F, Shefalee Jain, Santhosh S