Every Soiled Page

Art has been a source of documentation of human memories since times immemorial. Time has been a witness to a wave of change and a testimony to the past that is dusted, present that is continuous and future that will soon evolve into present. Amidst these testing times where uncertainty of life has dawned up, we can’t help but delve into our memory lanes. Those narrow lanes lead us to realms of euphoria and consciousness, reminding ourselves how matter and mind intertwine within each other. This conscious or unconscious act of revisiting the past weaves into a tapestry of collective memories that eventually encompasses our lifetime.

Installation, 2020 by Inder Salim

However, the only constant amidst the making and unmaking of this tapestry is an immortal witness- the soil. This soil has witnessed it all from the point of one’s arrival to departure, colonialism to liberation and much more. It has been a permanent archeological source for every soiled page.

Colonialism and modernity believed in unearthing the past and gorging this archeological source in order to preserve and remember it. This show encourages us to push our cognitive limits and poses the question that:

What if there are other ways of reading and remembering what’s inscribed on every soiled page?

The title of this exhibition draws inspiration from Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem- Memory (c. 1953)

“Perhaps your eyes shall apprehend one day,

Every soiled page, left blank by the arrest of Word.

Perhaps the banner of that song shall rise one day,

Which hangs low, yearning for the arrival of high wind.

Perhaps the beat of that heart shall reach you,

Which lies disgraced, like a stone on the pathway.”

Translated by Sain Sucha

The above verses propose art as a site for a reverse archaeology where materials, voices, inscriptions and testimonies produce a field of resonance for bearing witness and memory. Faiz’s verses powerfully invoke that we must apprehend the soiled page, listen to its reverberations collectively and sing along with them the songs that rise with each day.

Olive Tree IV, 2020 by Praneet Soi

An olive tree stands in the town of Bethlehem that has lived for over 4,000 years known as Al Badawi; The Bedouin. It has travelled through epochs and revolutions, springs and wars, continuing to hold its place and bear witness. One could conjecture that it has forgotten nothing. An autobiography of Al Badawi would simultaneously be an autobiography of the earth and all the maps that have tried to divide it.

Taking a silverpoint etching of an olive tree as a point of departure, the exhibition attempts to expand to push limits of the notion of bearing witness.

Touching Integrity (Larch) 8, 2016 by Neha Choksi

Beautifully juxtaposed with this work is Neha Choksi’s woodcut titled ‘Touching Integrity’. Her works remind me of a dissected bark of a tree. The monochromatic shades defining the annual rings, imply the trees age. This work allows us in intellectual, cultural and social contexts to revisit the entanglements of time, consciousness and socialization.

While, Choksi and Praneet Soi, explore the botanical genetics, Anju Dodiya traces shadow lines and parallels humans’ coexistence with nature. Her artwork titled “Concave/ Convex” is a condensation of the artist’s internal monologue, which has been the locus of her practice ever since inception. This work reminds us of how the act of remembering, renders those past events immortal. It is through these acts of memory-making that we forget our own mortal nature and death then becomes a lie. In the broader picture, this work also plays with my memory as it takes me back to Dodiya’s solo exhibit at Vadehra Art Gallery in 2015 titled ‘Imagined Immortals’.

Imagined Immortals, 2015 at Vadehra Art Gallery, Delhi.

Image Courtesy: Anju Dodiya and Vadehra Art Gallery

A small verse from Dodiya’s previous work leaves a striking impression on me:

“In an ordinary life, the epiphanies are recorded in the family photo album. In the absence of a sketch book – the photo album becomes a repository of secrets, ideas, and references that spill over into the present working moment.”

-Anju Dodiya

Imbricated Minutiae, 2017 by Sunil Padwal

Taking photography as the common point of congruity, Sunil Padwal aesthetically traps memories in what he categorically calls as ‘rescued” frames. The only point of difference being that Padwal’s abstract lines and forms populate those frames instead of thier original photographic content. This multiple layering recreates an environment under construction, partly built and partly destroyed where both the past and the future equally struggle to emerge. On a deeper level, these illustrated found objects remind me of all those emotional and spiritual experiences that eventually 'frame' one’s life experiences.

This show highlights the different surfaces and materials on which our memories and imprints resides. These soiled pages, a treasure trove of collective memories translated into art, attempt to expand our sensitivities and become an inherent witness of the past. In a way the human history will eventually be inscribed on every soiled page.

Curated by Sabih Ahmed with works from the Prabhakar collection.

On display until Sunday, 19th December, 2020

Image Courtesy: Ishara Art Foundation and Artists

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