A Thousand White Flags (2000 – present)
As part of my ongoing engagement with the mountain land of the Himalayas, I have since 2000, been placing white flags on high altitude sites and along trekking trails. Reminiscent of Buddhist prayer flags or cloth banners strung to bless the vast stretches of land beneath them, and of white flags that are universally understood as a symbol of peace, their consistent placement in the land is a symbolic gesture of peacekeeping as much as it is the planting of geographical footnotes embodying traditions that refuse to die. The act of leaving the flags to disintegrate back into the environ is giving back from where you get and reiterates a cultural sustainability in this context.
The 1000 flags are a reference from buddhist iconography - A thousand forms of Buddha and the markings, symbols speak of the geographies of the land, the perception of Buddha and the essence of peace. The flags are printed, drawn and stamped with symbols and markings drawing from the traditional method of printing with wooden blocks, the materiality further adding to the ethos of cultural sustainability and indigenous practices of the region. For me walking these lands is a material journey where the physical body is immersed in the environment and the terrain. A Thousand White Flags, represents my journey where spatial and temporal ‘presents’ coincide to construct my own process of archeology. Begun as a response to the demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, the project was first featured at the exhibition ‘And Buddha Smiles Again’ organised by the Masters Guild, supported by Intach and The India Habitat Centre, New Delhi in 2000.
As an extension to this project “A Thousand white flags” was supported by The India Art fair in 2019. It was installed as a 30 ft sanctuary of fluttering prayer flags stamped with symbols and markings, with the sounds of the skies above, leading the viewer into an experiential space. Here the abstract becomes tangible and allows the viewer a space for immediate inquiry directing him to encapsulate his perspective on peacekeeping. Photographs from the previous onsite installations transports the viewers relocating them within a cultural and spatial context. The project reiterates the very ethos of peacemaking, and the act leads to making connections and building involvement.
Currently the project is in the permanent collection of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) and was part of a show show ‘Inner life of Things- Around Anatomies and Armatures” April ’22 curated by Roobina Karode
Title : “A Thousand White Flags”
Size : 30ft x13 ft (size variable)
Medium : Buddhist Khata Scarf, Rice Paper, Unbleached cotton, Acrylic,Charcoal, Digital prints on Hahnemuhle Paper (Archival)
