He wages a lone battle through art to save rice
KOCHI: Amar Kanwar
is waging a battle for rice varieties through art. At the venue of the
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the video installation of this Delhi-based
artist stands apart as he has used 266 rare varieties of rice for his
work.
Titled 'Sovereign Forest', the installation reflects the angst of the artist regarding the disappearance of a large number of indigenous and organic rice varieties over the years.
"The loss of rice varieties is only the sub-plot of a wider story, which encompasses a host of issues: The sovereignty of crops, the overpowering influence of market forces on the selection of crops, usurpation of land and wider politics of power and violence," said Kanwar, who has mounted his multi-channel video installation at the Aspinwall House.
He brought rice varieties from Orissa and feels that if their land is usurped, the knowledge about these crops will also be gone, said Kanwar. He wants his art work to reopen discussion on understanding of crime, politics, human rights and ecology.
Central to Kanwar's work is the film The Scene of Crime. The terrain of the crime can be anyone's home, village as well as the landscape of a so-called nation. Accompanying The Scene of Crime is the Library of Evidence. Continuously expanding, this library of evidence confronts and compliments the forensic understanding of the crime, life and of the nation itself.
The installation blurs the boundaries between art and film. "I don't think the medium matters. For me, it is always a search for clarity," he said.
Kanwar, a recipient of the 1st Edward Munch Award for Contemporary Art, Norway, said his focus constantly oscillates between issues of justice and resistance. In the midst of chaos and the violent political and social fabric, Kanwar said he is an optimist. "I think you can see that in my work."
Titled 'Sovereign Forest', the installation reflects the angst of the artist regarding the disappearance of a large number of indigenous and organic rice varieties over the years.
"The loss of rice varieties is only the sub-plot of a wider story, which encompasses a host of issues: The sovereignty of crops, the overpowering influence of market forces on the selection of crops, usurpation of land and wider politics of power and violence," said Kanwar, who has mounted his multi-channel video installation at the Aspinwall House.
He brought rice varieties from Orissa and feels that if their land is usurped, the knowledge about these crops will also be gone, said Kanwar. He wants his art work to reopen discussion on understanding of crime, politics, human rights and ecology.
Central to Kanwar's work is the film The Scene of Crime. The terrain of the crime can be anyone's home, village as well as the landscape of a so-called nation. Accompanying The Scene of Crime is the Library of Evidence. Continuously expanding, this library of evidence confronts and compliments the forensic understanding of the crime, life and of the nation itself.
The installation blurs the boundaries between art and film. "I don't think the medium matters. For me, it is always a search for clarity," he said.
Kanwar, a recipient of the 1st Edward Munch Award for Contemporary Art, Norway, said his focus constantly oscillates between issues of justice and resistance. In the midst of chaos and the violent political and social fabric, Kanwar said he is an optimist. "I think you can see that in my work."
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