Subject to Change without Notice - 2004

show in New Delhi by Pondicherry-based artist, architect and teacher Ray Meeker ended the drought of sharp political articulation of ecological issues. Organised by Nature Morte and the Visual Arts Gallery, Subject to Change without Notice visualized the environmental imbalance on the planet in a worst-case scenario installation of arresting proportions, urging a harmonized relation between development and the ecosystem. In effect, a call to replace wasteful consumption with a sustainable use of resources. In the center of the large hall, surrounded by raked gravel, a sculptural installation of surreal rock-like formations patterned with tire marks, nuts and bolts––the essence of industrial societies. A denuded landscape like a metal junkyard: the future of the Earth? A disturbingly beautiful presence. Atantalizing title: Kyoto Protocol. The schema of the Zen dry rock gardens of Kyoto, reflecting a codependence of man and nature, turned into an expression of violent imbalance. Awarning to nations to heed the United Nations framework resolution on climate change, the Kyoto Protocol––especially to the US, that with the largest ecological footprint in the world has rejected the protocol. Who pays whose environmental costs, wonders the viewer. The claustrophobia of Kyoto Protocol’s bareness: an echo of radioactive wastelands, Three Mile Island, Pokharan, Chernobyl. The defoliating power of Agent Orange. Behind Kyoto Protocol flew an aviary of 78 drones, a masterly reference to the predatory reach of remote controlled surveillance aircraft. The drones seemed out of control; or maybe the only survivors of the industrial world. On the surrounding walls were large platters reminiscent of satellite images of Earth and luminous pear vases recalling nature’s abundance. Cruciform fish totem vases spoke of nature crucified. The possibility of resurrection, indicated by the fish girl, was overshadowed by busts of George Bush flanked by Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon as the three monkeys: a telling satire on superpower realpolitik as a major polluter. Perspective on this conflict was restored in a towering clay sculpture outside the gallery at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre, now its permanent abode. Hegemony is inspired by the megalithic stone circles of Avebury in the UK. “It is a monument to an age, at a time when the opportunity to adapt––to modify the demands on our finite world––may unwittingly slip beyond our control, spurring the resurgent forces of a ruthless natural economy,” says Meeker. His simple theme of balanced development of Earth’s ecosystem––the room we all live in––is revolutionary. This ruthless natural economy can only be countered by a ruthless political economy of sustainable development, equity and co-existence. In the shattering silence of memories of a flawed development lies a reflection for humanity to correct the balance sheet. What better way to illustrate this than to design a newway of seeing with clay or earth? What better way for an artist to side-step distraction and propaganda than to create art proudly rooted in social realities? First published in Tehelka, October 9, 2004. Now an associate editor at Tehelka , Chitra Padmanabhan has worked as a journalist for 19 years, writing on art and the politics of culture.