As far as I can remember, Chennai’s relationship with water has always been contentious.
Temperatures here are always high, rains are sparse in between and summer brings with it the never-ending shortage of water. ‘Unga areala thanni ellam eppadi?’ Loosely translated, this means: ‘What is the water supply situation like in your area?’ For many in the city, inept at small talk, water has been the go-to subject of conversation. But, over the past few years, Chennai has witnessed a marked shift in this conversation. The devastations of the flood in 2015 and the cyclone in 2016 laid bare the problems surrounding poorly maintained water systems. As a result, questions on water policy and collective responsibility are no longer ignored, but heavily debated upon. A rather clear and conducive voice within this dialogue has been the Embrace Our Rivers initiative put forth by the Goethe Institut, Chennai. In 2016, in the immediate aftermath of the floods, the Goethe Institut spearheaded the Chennai Photo Biennale, where water was one of the major topics of discussion. Following a similar vein of thought, Goethe Institut recently presented the DAMnedART project – a month-long exhibition curated by Florian Matzner and Ravi Agarwal.
This story is from the Aprill - May 2018 edition of Arts Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Aprill - May 2018 edition of Arts Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Sky Full Of Thoughts
Artist James Turrell’s ‘Twilight Epiphany Skyspace’ brings together the many nuances of architecture, time, space, light and music in a profound experience that blurs boundaries and lets one roam free within their own minds
We Are Looking into It
Swiss-based artists Jojakim Cortis and Adrian Sonderegger talk to us about the evolving meaning and purpose of photography and the many perspectives it lends to history
Cracked Wide Open
Building one of the world’s largest domes was no mean task for anyone, let alone an amateur goldsmith, so how did Filippo Brunelleschi accomplish building not one, but two of them?
In Search of a Witness
In conversation with legendary artist Arpana Caur on all things epiphanic, on all things pandemic, and on all things artistic
Where the Shadows Speak
The founder of Sarmaya Arts Foundation takes us through the bylanes of his journey with Sindhe Chidambara Rao, the custodian of the ancient art form of shadow puppetry – Tholu Bommalata
Bodies in Motion
What happens to the memory of a revelatory experience when it is re-watched through the frames of a screen? It somehow makes the edges sharper and the focal point clearer, as we discover through Chandralekha’s iconic Sharira
Faces in the Water
As physical ‘masks’ become part of our life, we take a look at artists working with different aspects of ‘faces’ and the things that lurk beneath the surface.
A Meeting at the Threshold
The immortal actor exemplified all that is admirable about his profession, from his creative choices to his work philosophy, and his passing was a low blow. This is our tribute to the prince among stars – Irrfan
The Imperfect Layout To The Imperfect Mystery
Jane De Suza’s ‘The Spy Who Lost Her Head’ doesn’t feature a protagonist with superhuman skills of deduction, nor a plot that fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. Here, quirks and imperfections are pushed into the spotlight
Free and Flawed
Greta Gerwig revitalises the literary classic, Little Women, highlighting the literary journey of its temperamental and wonderfully flawed female protagonist, Jo March
