Artist's Report PRATIK SAGAR
Project Name April 2011
Unpacking Social Networks: Investigating FAITH as a potential tool for ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH To know more please refer to project blog: unpackingsocialnetworks-pratiksagar.blogspot.com
The missing sounds of birds of my childhood from my home in the city of Delhi came in more notice once I shifted to a new temporary house at Baroda (Gujrat) where behind the walls of my room with but just skylights and no window or door to the backside ensuring I only hear but could not see and so donâ€&#x;t unweave what melody of bird songs I listen to? And to whom I now easily identify as sound of Asian Koel, Indiana Robin, Myna and Parrot & squirrels. Thanks to this project I could practically execute during the residency period where not only it developed but actually could compile in itself various other parallel and distracting issues of concern to me. In fact they overlap with the subject of experiment which was to deconstruct the word FORGIVE through an artistic treatment so as to identify its meaning and
relevance in today‟s time and to possibly identify range of implementations of its outcome to design a culture and prosperity. The project stands at the overlapping areas of interaction between almost formless arenas of „Art‟ with „Public‟ of many kinds (but Indians with few exceptions); Science of all types & deteriorating ecology?
The project seeks to break the social boundaries and to value life in the living forms & asks for a thought to widen existing network considering all as one. Loss of birds from the city is simply due to
Lack of nesting spaces, locally grown plants and water bodies and to cover up for disturbed eco-health one may not necessarily require „a water-seed structure with a word‟ but the whole activity undertaken during residency were an art effort for sensitizing the subject of ecological and spiritual deterioration and to enliven the idea of forgiveness by reviving faith and as once said „to remind us of our duties to the Mother Earth or for Nature Gods of pre history‟. Poetically though but the whole experience got
crystallized as a film journey. I always find it fulfilling to compose a video format of documentation of the whole artistic process & its background as it produce a clear picture of the work with its many layers and also is a fast & feasible, easily accessible, recognizable and efficient mode for publicity of the creative thought. This project I see well enough for generating a stir around urgent attention awaited problems and to focus on other connected key issues and in identifying causes and to consider what related consequent effects it may create? It‟s only when awareness programs in accordance with similar activities and more such work from other related authorities comparatively politically powerful coordinate in harmony that one can see reasonable progress, not alone an art activity in isolation of remedies to specific problem is
going to help and most probably alone is not capable of any significant change to the bigger picture. It is this interdependency of one over other where all are connected in a circuit primarily of energy flow considering various diverse transformations energy underwent and where each single compositing element of this configuration at all stages is undeniably vital and which is what this work as a whole highlights. It is this chain more easily notable in ecosystem whose components from pollination to food web all arranged like beads in a single thread. To match to this phenomenon reality is this project‟s main guideline and it is to maintain this continuous transformation of information from one field of knowledge system to another that the project grew while shifting between various methods of art making from writing, shooting photographs, creating installation spaces, travelling with the work to various public sites & performing/establishing bird observatories and filming visual lessons, capturing philosophical narrations out of number of imageries plus gathering data on bird species at each site throughout the project meanwhile interacting with immediate surrounding nature keeping all unpredictability which it retains.
Project thus shaped out to become kind of a model for nature & art appreciation and designed as a policy where both the drive and the process of participation hinted a spiritual activity which in turn allowed engagement with common masses commonly uninterested in most things and raised probability to discuss the issue of damaging beauty of nature and its harmful reflection upon our mental and social health and definitely over quality of the food we eat and the climate we live in. This policy of involving people had subsequently structured by introducing this one single idea of feeding the word FORGIVE to the birds (with slight alterations) at different times and with changing spaces. Spaces which were carefully marked out by making subsequent field trips to sites categorized in order of their character defined by their respective history, geo-socio-political identity and purposes. So as to reveal various shades and highlights of the art activity investigating faith as a potential tool for carving out environmental health and thus relay‟s upon figuring out up to date meaning of forgiveness considering local faith to faith in something often abstract and to upgrade “intentions” behind rituals which are now more subtle a form in limited number of religious practices and to see if that can be of some use in natures rescue. The work‟s proceedings in itself depends upon repeating many activities number of times like regular cleaning and filling of the sculpture with food, nesting material and affection, filming bird behavior and responses for hours and its repeat viewing till a final narrative is found. The work however had kept space for both, active participation as in maintaining or keeping such sculpture and producing inward contemplations which one may experience in such a setup merely through observation and involvement.
WORD WATCHING is a short film which narrates a journey of the artist from studio to public spaces meeting with unprecedented realizations. It renders bird watching, art performance and peopleâ€&#x;s inter-
-actions with the sculpture their reactions and responses and their identification with the idea of feeding and forgiveness. It documents bird living in urban climates and their adaptation with the surroundings.
The achievements of the project lay in the comfortable participation it ensured and encouraged with differing classes and faiths. The work what so ever it at first appeared to them (public) but seemed a safe practice which with time attracted some of their curiosity, ifs and buts? I feel that both the sculpture
and the kind of public partaking it demanded come into view like either a product of religion or another way of being spiritual. I am quoting observations from each of the sites (4 public + 1 private architecture/personal spaces) I had worked. One sculpture was made for studio experiment & installed for bird watching & another step like structure to travel to three Locations: River, Road Side & Local Park other then this an earth work was to be done at a Local Shrine not far from my home in Delhi.
A rather unusual encounter with two policemen one with a loaded gun in his hand appeared from nowhere after dark on first day at first of the chosen work site: Northern ridge’s local shrine at end of a park behind which is forested area and to the other side of the park is Sadar Bazaar a huge whole sale market &
chaos. Surprisingly when interrogating us police reflected some amount of trust over the nature of the work we were up to at this public site firstly without permissions and secondly without informing them anything in advance. Not only we were spared but given a security for good 15 minutes to complete that dayâ€&#x;s job. Anyways the word I dug alongside this Sufi shrine at Pul-Bangash influenced the other two wooden sculptures to be constructed for rest of the project.
One of which (sculpture) was to be put at a private space which the courtyard of Khoj is. Sculpture had got a form almost of a Sufi grave, a stepped structure capable of attracting birds. It contained WORD (Forgive) written with water bowls made out of mud and surrounded with suitable plants, ants & insects,
nesting material and seeds. The ambience of this observatory was based on the very same shrine. Although this observatory attracted many birds from bulbuls to rare bird sights like oriental white-eye (Hindi: Baboona) but was chiefly dominated throughout by pigeons and few sparrows leaving rest no choice but to remain only visitors except a rat living below the ground. The work at the Nigam Bodh Ghat (cremation place for Hindus & my caste) was not only possible without the accordance and supports of the private owners of the Ghat. As a matter of fact their son of
almost of my age with his boat and skills was integral to the idea‟s development from possibility to a fruitful experience. Although Pundit‟s at the Ghat got critically engaged themselves with both the format and causations to the work but once convinced even avail me the usually offered snacks to birds for free which is otherwise sold to the believers on request. As the ground on which the sculpture stood was river (sculpture was placed in a boat) so I replaced the water of bowls with snacks to attract migratory Siberian water bird regular to this site, a site unable in providing on its own much natural food to these birds for past a decade or more which even CW Games (Delhi 2010) could not change. These birds are now depending only upon the offerings they get out of respective faiths of some individuals mostly from nearby places. At Pamposh Enclave one real busy road sides the „forgive sculpture‟ was installed at an established bird feeding site attracting many regular visitors to give the sculpture various color shades by putting food offerings meant for crows, myna and pigeons. Eatables as diverse as bread, seeds, water and even milk all are shared by people. What was fascinating to watch were parents coming with their young ones and from auto rickshaw drivers to passerby holy men all approved of the act of feeding. It is probably the spiritual reflection of the activity which made some of them (even from nearby societies) to ask for if the work could permanently stay.
I however preferred taking the work to some park anywhere in khirki (so it‟s easier to operate) and establish a fresh site for bird feeding their engaging children regular to the park and then expand accordingly. I think this portion of the project required a greater length of time although the increased day for the display at Khoj studios added good more days. The senior members of this semi urban village by themselves allotted some space for this experiment right next to their sacred Piple tree enclosed in a compound guarded with iron fencing and with instructions to leave our shoes outside like any other temple. The sculpture attracted pigeons and squirrel almost instantly. As this tree temple compound is used for many auspicious local festivities and rituals and as at the time of installation Piple was naked and had no leaves (with the season) it was easier to spot many crow & eagle nests on it and it felt like an ideal space to start the experiment, being in the centre of park (longer in length then width) with a lush green side at one side (helpful in attracting birds) and dusty on the other side where was being played cricket by kids (despite of the disapproval of the care takers of the park). The repeated breaking of the water bowls due to play made it unsafe for birds to stay on ground without a fear of been hit anytime by a ball. So it did not turn out well. Also to establish itself, the sculpture needs guarding and maintenance till it can sustain on its own with the help of surrounding community and needed more time but certainly is not difficult.
And this was also the time of Cricket World Cup 2011 which India has won. So I spare those children. Seriously! And as the earlier cup came home in the year I was born back in 1984 so this is big. I am Proud.
In future
I will attempt the park project again but spanning for a longer time and also as a whole category of birds called vultures remained unaddressed here (though I filmed them quite and even included
it to the film: WORD WATCHING) & is much of my focus now. Unpacking Social Networks is an ongoing project and is going to produce more art works in coming days.