“Voice” under the old Yamuna bridge
The message behind the jacket says: “Yeh meri jagah hai” (this is my place).
The old Yamuna bridge is a two-level bridge (one for railway, one for traffic). It has long been declared to have outlasted its life-time and it actually wobbles vigorously when traffic or trains pass. With the Yamuna river having steadily degraded over the years, the bridge has become many more things: a patch of darkness, a shelter (under the bridge we found many temperory hutments). Being there I could sense decay and neglect. This performance emphasised the marginal space I occupy in Indian society as an artist.
on the bridge
under the bridge
sitting near one of the houses
You also offer a service–a beacon, a night light, an oasis of light in darkness. This project makes me think not only of seeing a light on at the end of a dark road, but the navigational potential of other bright objects (like stars) that at first seem distant and indistinct, and then become clearer and more intense. Much like seeing this backpack from far away as a beacon.
Are people hesitant about approaching you with this on your back, or do you find it has been a conversation starter?
Hi Nick! It was quite a conversation starter but only in the dense residential areas (slums) and the marketplaces that I walked through… At the parliament not really. What got people curious is what they saw as the novelty of the jacket and its functional benefit to them, many wanted to make one like that. The statement and its positioning at each place led to a few fights and arguments too: at the flyover, in Okla, in McDonald’s.
I am making the lightbox more integrated with the jacket now, so i looks more like a part of the jacket… wonder what effect it will have on its visibility?
Thanks for dropping by!