Parag Tandel, the artist-archivist from Koliwada

In his latest show, artist Parag Tandel sculpts personal narratives of the Koli community, which is fast losing out on its ancient ways

- Riddhi Doshi

What is it that defines art? How can one make it relevant? These questions have troubled artists through centuries. It was to establish an immediate context to Indian art that masters such as S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain and F.N. Souza founded the Bombay Progressive Artists Group in 1947. The idea was to break away from the British visual language and introduce Indian art concepts to the world. Even artists of the Bengal School of Art, led by Abanindranath Tagore, were seeking answers to the same questions.

Decades later, Parag Tandel, a graduate of Mumbai’s Sir JJ School of Art is on a similar quest. His inquiry—albeit a more localised and focused one— has extended to the show, ‘Archipelagic Archivist’, currently on display at Tarq, a contemporary art space in Mumbai. Hailing from the Koli community, settled in Chandeni Koliwada village, Thane district, Tandel responds to what it means to be an artist from a traditional fishing community. He delves deep into the history of the community from the time when Mumbai was just an archipelago of seven islands. The Kolis, who worshipped nature, and whose homes overlooking the sea were declared slums to make way for high-rises, are compelled to forego their traditions, thanks to rapid urbanisation, politics and marine pollution. Their ancient ways of life, which have the potential of providing solutions to today’s climate crisis, are getting lost. In such a scenario, what does it mean to be an artist from the Koli community? “When you unlearn Western ideologies, you start seeing within. And you end up asking yourself, ‘What if there were no paints, what would then be the Koli art?’,” says Tandel.