Testing the Waters

Rivers connect; they do not divide. Reena Saini Kallat continues her exploration of partitioned lives in a new show, notes Meera Menezes.

- Meera Menezes

Deep Rivers Run Quiet, the title of Reena Saini Kallat’s show, evoked the proverb, ‘Still waters run deep’ but owed its origins to Haruki Murakami’s book Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It was held from the 6th of November to the 12th of December at Nature Morte’s Viewing Room, which afforded a virtual, immersive and animated experience.

In her current suite of works, Saini Kallat draws the viewer’s attention to water as a site of contestation. Often forming natural boundaries between nation-states, rivers are regarded as a resource meant to be exploited and often serve as a bargaining chip between countries. Treaties and water sharing agreements aim to divide the spoils and avert disputes between freshwater-hungry populations. Studies indicate that in the past decade, water-related violence has surged due to the mismanagement of resources. Natural calamities have been brought about by climate change and supplies of fresh water have diminished due to exponential population growth.

Saini Kallat transformed these concerns in her