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)

KKCL research residency Kolkatta 2024

Curated by Premjish Achari & Supported by Kaee Contemporary and Art Ichol.

Aspects of associations, encounters, experiences with places and people examine the dichotomy in urbansituations in its present context with respect to their sociopolitical history. Be it built clusters, the textured surface of the Earth or organic settlements, to me, they all become metaphors to relive or decode encounters from memories or the present construct and transcend into a larger more universal context. This formed the basic premise of my research and the area in concern was to examine the characteristics of Kolkata city through its built environment and its unique cross colonial architecture, its engagement with the community, the cultural and political memory that is rooted in its lived and built structures. As part of the month long residency I explored and revisited old architectural sites in Kolkata, experiencing the layers of memory and a sociopolitical history embedded in the city through the passage of time.

Delineating these lived spaces and imagined shadowed memories in my research and artistic response address the greatest urgency now to preserve all old structures that are still standing today. My documentation reflects upon the understanding about this region's architecture not merely from a historical perspective but an imagined experiential space that existed, the complex history behind it and the consequences of that history on our building style.

Exploring the characteristics of Kolkata city through its built environment. Examining various colonial influences with earlier structures built in the European Renaissance style and later classical orders such as Tuscan, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian etc. The first phase of my research entailed visits to the some identified homes in the by lanes of the old Neighbourhood of Jorasanko - a Tagore lived neighbourhood and Bowbazaar area. The homes visited are between 120 to 180 years old that reflect the hybridised forms infusing indigenous elements and colonial references. Initial observations, sketches, photographs/curated walks, interviews and studying old plans and maps were all part of the exploration. Unfolding the layers of memories embedded in its lived and built structures, the organic arrangement of the houses which contain space and life, intimate spaces interwoven with human interaction echo the past. This dialogue translates it into an experiential response that transcends beyond the physicality of the space once occupied by its dwellers… Engaging with the community during the research period and an attempt to reconnect the urban regeneration with the city’s legacy of aesthetics, memories and culture was instrumental in reconstructing shadows of these imagined lived spaces, recognise and put forth aspects of Kolkata’s historical construct.