Between One Shore and Several Others

Between One Shore and Several Others is an enquiry into the evolution of identities through the transmigrations of concepts, their assimilations, and internalisations.

Central to self-expression are the investigations of human interconnectedness. Kochi, my hometown - itself has been the receptacle of social and cultural ideas from diverse countries and ethnicities over the centuries. I acknowledge socially, culturally, metaphorically, and quite literally, that I am standing - between one shore and several others.

Notes from a Food Forest is along the lines of a ‘social sculpture’ as articulated by Joseph Beuys. An intervention using art’s potential to shape and mould our existence, it adapts to a climate-changed world. This series is a part of the ‘Project - Food Forest, Udumbanchola’, which began in 2014, as a creative transformation and an agricultural intervention informed by the expanded notion of art and its scope of practice.

Quarantine Suites comprises a collection of photographs that I took in hotel rooms and other spaces that I was constrained within, during the early days of the pandemic. This was amplified by the fact that I was in an alien land during much of the isolation, with the uncertainty of returning home, and the need to remain creative in that situation. To stabilize the circadian rhythm, turning off the lights with only the blinking LEDs of electronic devices, reinforces the strand of connection with the world outside. Takings these lights out for a walk à la Paul Klee, and drawing its registration within the confined space leads to realizing the meaning of ‘Photography’.

I do not protest or criticise the cultural metamorphoses, as I do not wish for the revival of the old world. Rather through sharp but caring observations of significant, but often-overlooked details, I point to a reality that is churning with warm amusement.

- Vivek Vilasini