Only when the last tree has been cut down Only when the last, river has been poisoned,
Only when the last mountain has been mined,
Only when the last person has moved to the city,
Only then will you find that money tastes awful, that it cannot be eaten”
— An old proverb
The benefits of globalisation may have finally trickled down to India, but the Indian farmer continues to be burdened with crushing poverty, spiralling debts, bad crops and a failing government. In an attempt to raise awareness about these issues, US-based artist Kiran Chandra seeks to create an environment that presents ways to think about the critical issue of farmer suicides in her ongoing show in Delhi titled “Pro.ject 2012.01”.
According to the latest data, a quarter of a million farmers in India have committed suicide in the last 16 years — 2,56,913 deaths in 2010; an average of one suicide every 30 minutes. India is largely an agrarian economy; then why aren’t these deaths affecting us as a nation? As India shakes hand with globalisation, what will happen to the small farmers in our country?
In her debut show in the capital, Kiran has converted the gallery into a farmer’s field by covering the floor with soil, the walls with fabric resembling a paddy field and a video installation showing the farmer’s plight. By creating this environment for the audience, Kiran wants them to think about issues like land distribution and the growing divide between the urban and rural realities of India.
“I am not offering any solutions, but a place to pause and think about an issue that could affect us, and maybe, then to act,” she says.
Her work comprises video, fabric, screen prints, soil, sculpture and drawing in charcoal on paper. The walls of the gallery are wrapped in fabric that has been printed with audio images of interviews and conversations Kiran had with farmers and their families in Chhattisgarh last summer. The rise and fall of their voices dramatically mimic green paddy fields.
“I wanted to create an environment whereby a person in a Delhi could be reminded of a farmer in Chhattisgarh, just by stepping into a surrounding that is a reality for the farmer,” she explains.
Speaking about why she chose farmer suicides among a host of other social issues, Kiran replies, “I have always been interested in the dynamics of power. If we look at how land is used and how resources are distributed, we see that it is all influenced by power, and underneath this power structure lies the factor of a capitalist economy. I wanted to understand the power play and the reason behind the disconnect between urban and rural India. Can art be the platform for discussion and reconciliation between the centre and the periphery?”
In one of the rooms, the floor is covered with soil on which the artist has grown grass and jowar to spell out “In Denial” to represent the plight of farmers. On a screen in front, a video installation shows a farmer being gradually wrapped from head to toe to represent how farmers are being denied their rights and how their voices not being heard.
As Kiran puts it, the seeds of this project were planted during her visit to villages in Chhattisgarh over the summer of 2011. She explains: “I kept reading about farmer suicides, the Singur episode…I was curious to know what was happening. When I went to visit the farmers, I did not have anything planned. I just wanted to talk to them and get an idea of their reality. I was warned about Maoist uprisings and a hostile countryside. But when I lived with the farmers, it created in me new sensibilities,” she says.
Wasn’t it difficult for her to get the farmers to talk, given that she was from the city and couldn’t promise them of a better future? “Surprisingly, the farmers were very vocal. I was lucky to have come back with so many memories,” she adds with a smile.
Born in Kolkata, Kiran graduated from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
“Pro.ject 2012.01” will be on display at Shrine Empire Gallery till February 18