Artist Reena Saini Kallat explores themes of migration, ecological crises in solo show

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) At the heart of artist Reena Saini Kallat's solo exhibition at Nature Morte is a 20th-century audio device that, detached from its original role as a warfare tool, offers a glimpse into a world once inhabited by birds of 11 distinct species.

"Requiem (The Last Call)", a large-scale installation in continuation of Kallat's exploration of sound-based works, features recordings of bird calls -- including cryptic tree hunter, the poo-uli, the dusky seaside sparrow, and the kauai -- that have fallen victim to habitat destruction, overhunting, climate change, and pollution.

In the show, titled "Zero Horizon", Kallat has examined the effects of human-made ecological and socio-political crises to explore the conditions of migration of species around the world.

"For humans, these movements are deeply personal and usually political, instigated by long-simmering historical disputes, communal tensions, and military violence. For animals and plants, centuries-old migratory patterns are being disrupted by climate change, over urbanisation, and environmental degradation," the organisers said in a statement.

The artist has explored the parameters of these changes, illustrating through sculptures, paintings, collages, and installations.

In another work, titled “I am the river, the river is me”, Kallat has combined eight paintings on canvas with a number of framed drawings, collages and found objects.

The paintings are of specific rivers in different parts of the world which are all at critical stages of degeneration, creating a poetic synergy between the plight of human refugees, disappearing flora and fauna, and rapidly degrading eco-systems.

"Kallat echoes a sense of personhood that is being projected on to natural resources in both social and political discourses, communicating a sense of loss, disappearance, and invisibility," they said.

Drawing on data, Kallat's works reveal the deep interdependence of migration and their cascading effects on ecosystems and societies.

A large-scale wall triptych, titled “Pattern Recognition”, consists of three pyramidal constructions which document the international mobility available to citizens of different countries.

While the citizens of the nation at the top of each pyramid enjoy the most freedom as to how many countries they can travel to without the need of a specialised visa in their passport, those in the bottom rows require the most number of visas.

India is in the second-to-last row in all cases.

The work records "the strange, almost irrational, privileges that certain humans have over others".

The artist has complemented the work with a set of photographs sourced from the mass media. The images register actual human conflicts that are both the causes and effects of social unrest, including climate change, the pandemic, and political turmoil.

As national borders have recurrently appeared in Kallat’s practice, "Pattern Recognition" expands the conversation to encompass privilege and policy.

The show will come to an end on January 12. PTI MAH MG MAH MAH