Exploring ecology through art
A white flag is seen fluttering outside the building of Nature Morte, a contemporary art gallery in Dhan Mill Compound. Created by Thai contemporary artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, this bold black flag reads: ‘Kya hum ek hi aasman ke tale khwab dekhte hain (Do we dream under the same sky)’. The text poses a question that, after contemplation, would make one revisit several aspects of our existence, and if our lives are equal at all.
Tiravanija is one among seven artists displaying their works at ‘Infinite Reminders’, an exhibition that attempts to explore the “idea of horizons as sites of political imagination”. Curated by Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi, this exhibition was inaugurated last week and will conclude on August 18.
Exploring the skyline
Horizons have always fascinated Mopidevi. Recounting something his mentor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) used to say, he shares, “My mentor would say how we should see politics as moving towards horizons and not destinations, because horizons tell you that you have to reorient the course of your journey and it is not one kind of destination that we are moving towards.” With ‘Infinite Reminders’, the curator brings together artists who explore political and ecological realities through sculptures, video installations, kinetic drawings, and more.
New York-based Janine Antoni’s 2002 video installation ‘Touch’ resonated with Mopidevi at one point in his life, helping him take his own thoughts about horizons forward. On a similar front, Berlin-based Edith Dekyndt reminds viewers about the importance of slowing down through her visual installation ‘Slow Objects 4’. Noida-based artist Parul Gupta, who has been working around the idea of movement for long, also prompts the viewer to pause and reflect. Her work on display is from the series ‘Notes on Movement’, wherein we see a series of red and black lines spread across five panels.
Shift to environmental art
The ecology, the changing aspects of the environment, and questions of loss, imbalance, and extinction form the core of this exhibition. For instance, South Delhi-based Vibha Galhotra, who is displaying two works from her series ‘Wounded’, draws attention to the geological scars that human beings are leaving on the planet. In the work, we see marks on the cement surface, later cast on paper. New York-based Bahar Behbahani’s ‘Mother River’, is centred on the pollution of rivers and the decaying state of the planet. The video installation is dedicated to seven rivers to bring exploitation into focus.
Given that the participating artists are from world over and across age groups, this exhibi focuses on the pervasiveness of issues. Taking the example of Tiravanija’s flag, Mopidevi concludes, “If you hang that flag in the US, it will pose a different question; in Sri Lanka it will have a different response. And if you hang it in Delhi, it will have a different impact.”
CHECK IT OUT
WHAT: ‘Infinite Reminders’
WHEN: Till August 18
WHERE: Nature Morte, The Dhan Mill, Chhatarpur