Artist's Report Project Name

PRATIK SAGAR April 2011

Unpacking Social Networks: Investigating FAITH as a potential tool for ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH To know more please refer to project blog: unpackingsocialnetworks-pratiksagar.blogspot.com

The missing sounds of birds of my childhood from my home in the city of Delhi came in more

notice once I shifted to a new temporary house at Baroda (Gujrat) where behind the walls of my room with

but just skylights and no window or door to the backside ensuring I only hear but could not see and so

don‟t unweave what melody of bird songs I listen to? And to whom I now easily identify as sound of

Asian Koel, Indiana Robin, Myna and Parrot & squirrels. Thanks to this project I could practically execute

during the residency period where not only it developed but actually could compile in itself various other

parallel and distracting issues of concern to me. In fact they overlap with the subject of experiment which

was to deconstruct the word FORGIVE through an artistic treatment so as to identify its meaning and

relevance in today‟s time and to possibly identify range of implementations of its outcome to design a

culture and prosperity. The project stands at the overlapping areas of interaction between almost formless

arenas of „Art‟ with „Public‟ of many kinds (but Indians with few exceptions); Science of all types &

deteriorating ecology?

The project seeks to break the social boundaries and to value life in the living forms & asks

for a thought to widen existing network considering all as one. Loss of birds from the city is simply due to

Lack of nesting spaces, locally grown plants and water bodies and to cover up for disturbed eco-health one

may not necessarily require „a water-seed structure with a word‟ but the whole activity undertaken during

residency were an art effort for sensitizing the subject of ecological and spiritual deterioration and to

enliven the idea of forgiveness by reviving faith and as once said „to remind us of our duties to the Mother

Earth or for Nature Gods of pre history‟. Poetically though but the whole experience got

crystallized as a film journey. I always find it fulfilling to compose a video format of documentation of the

whole artistic process & its background as it produce a clear picture of the work with its many layers and

also is a fast & feasible, easily accessible, recognizable and efficient mode for publicity of the creative

thought. This project I see well enough for generating a stir around urgent attention awaited problems and

to focus on other connected key issues and in identifying causes and to consider what related consequent

effects it may create? It‟s only when awareness programs in accordance with similar activities and more

such work from other related authorities comparatively politically powerful coordinate in harmony that

one can see reasonable progress, not alone an art activity in isolation of remedies to specific problem is

going to help and most probably alone is not capable of any significant change to the bigger picture. It is

this interdependency of one over other where all are connected in a circuit primarily of energy flow

considering various diverse transformations energy underwent and where each single compositing element

of this configuration at all stages is undeniably vital and which is what this work as a whole highlights. It

is this chain more easily notable in ecosystem whose components from pollination to food web all

arranged like beads in a single thread. To match to this phenomenon reality is this project‟s main guideline

and it is to maintain this continuous transformation of information from one field of knowledge system to

another that the project grew while shifting between various methods of art making from writing, shooting

photographs, creating installation spaces, travelling with the work to various public sites &

performing/establishing bird observatories and filming visual lessons, capturing philosophical narrations

out of number of imageries plus gathering data on bird species at each site throughout the project

meanwhile interacting with immediate surrounding nature keeping all unpredictability which it retains.

Project thus shaped out to become kind of a model for nature & art appreciation and designed as a

policy where both the drive and the process of participation hinted a spiritual activity which in turn

allowed engagement with common masses commonly uninterested in most things and raised probability to

discuss the issue of damaging beauty of nature and its harmful reflection upon our mental and social health

and definitely over quality of the food we eat and the climate we live in. This policy of involving people

had subsequently structured by introducing this one single idea of feeding the word FORGIVE to the birds

(with slight alterations) at different times and with changing spaces. Spaces which were carefully marked

out by making subsequent field trips to sites categorized in order of their character defined by their

respective history, geo-socio-political identity and purposes. So as to reveal various shades and highlights

of the art activity investigating faith as a potential tool for carving out environmental health and thus

relay‟s upon figuring out up to date meaning of forgiveness considering local faith to faith in something

often abstract and to upgrade “intentions” behind rituals which are now more subtle a form in limited

number of religious practices and to see if that can be of some use in natures rescue. The work‟s

proceedings in itself depends upon repeating many activities number of times like regular cleaning and

filling of the sculpture with food, nesting material and affection, filming bird behavior and responses for

hours and its repeat viewing till a final narrative is found. The work however had kept space for both,

active participation as in maintaining or keeping such sculpture and producing inward contemplations

which one may experience in such a setup merely through observation and involvement.

WORD WATCHING is a short film which narrates a journey of the artist from studio to public spaces

meeting with unprecedented realizations. It renders bird watching, art performance and people‟s inter-

-actions with the sculpture their reactions and responses and their identification with the idea of feeding

and forgiveness. It documents bird living in urban climates and their adaptation with the surroundings.

The achievements of the project lay in the comfortable participation it ensured and encouraged

with differing classes and faiths. The work what so ever it at first appeared to them (public) but seemed a

safe practice which with time attracted some of their curiosity, ifs and buts? I feel that both the sculpture

and the kind of public partaking it demanded come into view like either a product of religion or another

way of being spiritual. I am quoting observations from each of the sites (4 public + 1 private

architecture/personal spaces) I had worked. One sculpture was made for studio experiment & installed for

bird watching & another step like structure to travel to three Locations: River, Road Side & Local Park

other then this an earth work was to be done at a Local Shrine not far from my home in Delhi.

A rather unusual encounter with two policemen one with a loaded gun in his hand appeared from nowhere

after dark on first day at first of the chosen work site: Northern ridge’s local shrine at end of a park

behind which is forested area and to the other side of the park is Sadar Bazaar a huge whole sale market &

chaos. Surprisingly when interrogating us police reflected some amount of trust over the nature of the

work we were up to at this public site firstly without permissions and secondly without informing them

anything in advance. Not only we were spared but given a security for good 15 minutes to complete that

day‟s job. Anyways the word I dug alongside this Sufi shrine at Pul-Bangash influenced the other two

wooden sculptures to be constructed for rest of the project.

One of which (sculpture) was to be put at a private space which the courtyard of Khoj is. Sculpture had

got a form almost of a Sufi grave, a stepped structure capable of attracting birds. It contained WORD

(Forgive) written with water bowls made out of mud and surrounded with suitable plants, ants & insects,

nesting material and seeds. The ambience of this observatory was based on the very same shrine. Although

this observatory attracted many birds from bulbuls to rare bird sights like oriental white-eye (Hindi:

Baboona) but was chiefly dominated throughout by pigeons and few sparrows leaving rest no choice but to

remain only visitors except a rat living below the ground.

The work at the Nigam Bodh Ghat (cremation place for Hindus & my caste) was not only possible

without the accordance and supports of the private owners of the Ghat. As a matter of fact their son of

almost of my age with his boat and skills was integral to the idea‟s development from possibility to a

fruitful experience. Although Pundit‟s at the Ghat got critically engaged themselves with both the format

and causations to the work but once convinced even avail me the usually offered snacks to birds for free

which is otherwise sold to the believers on request. As the ground on which the sculpture stood was river

(sculpture was placed in a boat) so I replaced the water of bowls with snacks to attract migratory Siberian

water bird regular to this site, a site unable in providing on its own much natural food to these birds for

past a decade or more which even CW Games (Delhi 2010) could not change. These birds are now

depending only upon the offerings they get out of respective faiths of some individuals mostly from nearby

places.

At Pamposh Enclave one real busy road sides the „forgive sculpture‟ was installed at an established bird

feeding site attracting many regular visitors to give the sculpture various color shades by putting food

offerings meant for crows, myna and pigeons. Eatables as diverse as bread, seeds, water and even milk all

are shared by people. What was fascinating to watch were parents coming with their young ones and from

auto rickshaw drivers to passerby holy men all approved of the act of feeding. It is probably the spiritual

reflection of the activity which made some of them (even from nearby societies) to ask for if the work

could permanently stay.

I however preferred taking the work to some park anywhere in khirki (so it‟s easier to operate) and

establish a fresh site for bird feeding their engaging children regular to the park and then expand

accordingly. I think this portion of the project required a greater length of time although the increased day

for the display at Khoj studios added good more days. The senior members of this semi urban village by

themselves allotted some space for this experiment right next to their sacred Piple tree enclosed in a

compound guarded with iron fencing and with instructions to leave our shoes outside like any other

temple. The sculpture attracted pigeons and squirrel almost instantly. As this tree temple compound is used

for many auspicious local festivities and rituals and as at the time of installation Piple was naked and had

no leaves (with the season) it was easier to spot many crow & eagle nests on it and it felt like an ideal

space to start the experiment, being in the centre of park (longer in length then width) with a lush green

side at one side (helpful in attracting birds) and dusty on the other side where was being played cricket by

kids (despite of the disapproval of the care takers of the park). The repeated breaking of the water bowls

due to play made it unsafe for birds to stay on ground without a fear of been hit anytime by a ball. So it did

not turn out well. Also to establish itself, the sculpture needs guarding and maintenance till it can sustain

on its own with the help of surrounding community and needed more time but certainly is not difficult.

And this was also the time of Cricket World Cup 2011 which India has won. So I spare those children.

Seriously! And as the earlier cup came home in the year I was born back in 1984 so this is big. I am Proud.

In future I will attempt the park project again but spanning for a longer time and also as a whole

category of birds called vultures remained unaddressed here (though I filmed them quite and even included

it to the film: WORD WATCHING) & is much of my focus now. Unpacking Social Networks is an

ongoing project and is going to produce more art works in coming days.