This is a series depicting the ‘markings’ made by our collective “human community” on the environment. ‘Black’ has been used to portray the extraction of something precious from the earth, or the addition of something negative to the environment; ‘white’ has been used to mask certain realities, something that we are turning a blind eye to; and ‘red’ represents how we end up hurting the environment.
Construction is usually a positive activity because we build using valuable resources. However, it also leaves a mark on the aesthetics of a city and the subconscious mind of its residents. Therefore, when we build without thought and, often by plundering havoc on the green belt, we end up subtracting value.
The intention behind this project is to unblind our limited vision and increase awareness so that we can see where we are headed, and lead a more conscious lifestyle. Even as a collective species, we need to empower ourself to have an active say in how our cities are shaping up, saying ‘no’ to mindless development of malls, fountains (even if the tallest in the city), statues and bullet trains which comes at the huge cost of the blood of trees, endangered animal/bird species and our choked up lungs.
Given the physicality of the act of mark making, parallel to these photographs, these artworks have also been conceptualized as prints, light-box installations and art objects where the photograph would be printed/transferred on the relevant medium and additional marks would be made through the traditional methods of printmaking e.g., etching, woodcut, linocut, drypoint, etc.
Perturbed by the air pollution, tree-felling, improper waste disposal and ugly construction in our cities, this body of work came up very organically, as a response from my subconscious mind, as if the environment was speaking through me.