This Art Night Thursday, head to Ranjeeta Kumari's latest show that questions society's unequal hierarchies
The Vinda is a symbolic object Kumari chooses to express her interpretation of unacknowledged workers and their contribution to society
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What is the message of your latest exhibition: Labour of the Unseen? Is it a critique of the marginalisation of labour?
I present this exhibition more like a research residue of the position of labour in our society. What does labour mean? Who becomes a labourer? Are we all not labourers at some point? Then why is there inequality for survival? My work is not loud but wants to spread that Awaaz, that honourable right to be. It features all the experiences I gained in Patna and during my stay in Shiv Nadar University, which is an area surrounded by villages and at the outskirts of the city. I began to understand what outskirts mean. And how labour and living here, differs from the city. I am hoping that this body of work becomes a point for further discussion and dialogue for marginalisation of labour, not a critique.
You use a lot of material and objects found at labourers’ workplaces to create your art works. Why?
I use material and objects found at workers’ places and it is through these things that I make an installation. Thus, it is through these raw materials which justify my work and speaks a lot for my concept and thought level.
Still from the Beyond The Line
Tell us about your visits to the Domkhana, an informal settlement of India’s Mahadalits. How did that time shape your vision as an artist?
I did not visit Domkhana but I grew up there. The indifference and hierarchy in the society has always been a part of me, always making me question the same. My father is a strong Marxist, who has strived for his rights. While I was growing, he helped me voice my questions and answer my doubts by introducing me to social and Marxist thinkers. Near Domkhana is the Patna School of Arts Craft, the Patna Museum and Kalidas Rangalay. I developed my interest in art by visiting these places. Earlier, I learnt Bharatnatyam, got familiar with poets and recited poems before joining the art school. All of this has helped me look at my identity from various perspectives and hence allows me to express in the form of art.
Your exhibits are personal in nature. For instance, you have a recording of your mother pounding turmeric on granite. What is the story behind this?
I have seen her doing this since my childhood. It is a mundane act for me because I am accustomed to this practice of women making as many masalas as possible in the house itself. It was an intuitive act when I captured this. It is only later when I viewed it that I realised it has meanings that I did not see before. It has been a kind of a memory – the memory of a woman whom I’ve known as long as I remember. It is a simple act of pounding turmeric on granite. Though it is my mother, it is an evidence of the story of her existence. Like her, it connects to many other women living in similar conditions of households. While I capture this moment on my camera, I also look at the transition of labour of a housewife in rural localities verses working women in the cities.
Ranjeeta Kumari at work
Till September 29
At Clark House Bombay, Clark House building, Nathalal Parekh Marg Colaba.
Time 6 pm to 10 pm (Thursday); 11 am to 7 pm (other days, Monday closed)
Call 919820213816
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