EXHIBITION "Else, All Will Be Still" a solo show of photographs by Ravi Agarwal at Gallery Espace, 16 Community Centre, New Friends Colony > 11am to 7pm on 8th April to 7th May 2016

Time : 11:00 am to 7:00 pm Add to Calendar 08/04/2016 11:00 07/05/2016 19:00 Asia/Kolkata EXHIBITION "Else, All Will Be Still" a solo show of photographs by Ravi Agarwal Event Page : http://www.delhievents.com/2016/04/exhibition-else-all-will-be-still-solo.html Gallery Espace, 16 Community Centre, New Friends Colony, New Delhi - 110025 DD/MM/YYYY

Entry : Free

Venue : Gallery Espace, 16 Community Centre, New Friends Colony, New Delhi - 110025
Venue Info : galleryespace.com | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Lajpat Nagar(Violet Line)'

Event Description : EXHIBITION "Else, All Will Be Still" a solo show of photographs by Ravi Agarwal

New Delhi: Delhi-based photographer Ravi Agarwal, also a well known environmental activist, is presenting a solo show of photographs and videos titled Else, All Will Be Still, at Gallery Espace, 16, Community Centre, New Delhi from April 8 till May 7, 2016, 11. am to 7 p.m.

“Two years ago, I had a close encounter with the sea, a first for me, an inland urban person, and the show is based on this experience in a fishing village near Pondicherry, where fishermen friends helped me navigate new waters.  The ‘ground’ changingexperiences led me to further my ongoing explorations about the man-nature relationship and the question – What is nature?My inspiration is the ever changing and awe inspiring landscape of the ‘sea’, ancient Tamil Sangam poetry, and also the plight of the poor fisherman,” says Agarwal, also a writer and curator, who explores issues of urban space, ecology and capital ininterrelated ways working with photographs, video, performance, on-site installations and public art.

And so    it    is    that    Agarwal turned to    Sangam poetry    to  provide    the    parameters of    his    encounter with the sea.“I was led to ancient Tamil Sangam akam love poetry, where five landscapes. Kurinji - mountains, Mullai - forests,Marutam - agricultural lands, Neithal - sea, Palai – desert, became an internal terrain of feelings representing sexual union,yearning, sulking, pining, and separation.  The outside became inside as object and subject co-formed each other.”  All the works deal with ideas of nature and also how it is different with the fisherman and with those who only exploit nature, but have no other relationship with it. Even though the works are an outcome of working with a fishing community, they address the connection of local and larger issues surrounding ecology and sustainability today.


“Today, the planet is in an ecological crisis. It is framed as a conflict between economic development and the planet’s limit to support a growing and resource intensive human population. It is the age of the power of man, the Anthropocene, where human actions will determine the future of the earth. Nature has been reduced to an object which can only be ‘acted’ uponthrough it being ‘extracted,’ ‘admired,’ ‘enjoyed,’ etc. but not  ‘lived’ with. The relationship is one of power. Capitalism,technology, mass production, resource exploitation, all have prospered though this positioning. Wilderness has been privatized, forests fenced, rivers tamed, and animals made extinct. Those who lived on the ‘land’ have become poor, while those who live ‘off’ it have become rich. There seems no going back from consumption, and progress.No one can guarantee future survival. Some tribal societies inherit the planet for future, not own it as private property. Ideas about science, economies, future need to be read alongside ideas of mortality, fragility, vulnerability, balance, equity anddemocracy.” 

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