Tsuktiben Jamir
‘Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground’, a travelling exhibition has made its stop at the Indian Museum, Kolkata on the 16 February 2023 and will continue till the 02 April 2023. This exhibition was created by Peter Weibel of the Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany, and French philosopher Bruno Latour, and was first exhibited at ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. The show travelled to Bombay and Colombo before arriving in Kolkata. Unfortunately, Latour passed away before the exhibition reached the subcontinent. The exhibition will also be shown in New Delhi and Mumbai.
The Indian Museum in Kolkata and the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India have collaborated to stage this exhibition. Curated by Mira Hirtz and Daria Mille, it features works by Sri Lankan and Indian artists.
Courtesy: @hello.starmag
This project is a means of exploring the crucial zone, which refers to the thin layer of the Earth’s surface that is only a few kilometres thick and on which life is generated. Moreover, this is the location of intricate interactions between human activity, the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The word highlights the fragility of this thin layer while also shedding attention to the myriad disputes that have led to shifts in political viewpoints regarding it.
In order to explore the crucial zone and its consequences for our comprehension of the environment and our interaction with it, the project aims to address the generally pervasive confusion and disagreement in society, politics, and ecology over the changing status of the planet. It will include a conglomeration of scientists, artists and scholars coming together and addressing the “critical zone” through conversations and co-creative moments to study and analyse the issues important for each specific location—the “critical zone” and its inhabitants—to investigate and address the “critical zone” at that station within the greater framework of the exhibition. The exhibition project assumes the earth as a network of Critical Zones by setting up an imaginary cartography. It will be complemented by a comprehensive activation programme that includes seminars, film screenings, videos, installations and forum discussions.
This fusion of scientific understanding and artistic sensibility aims to create a sort of sensorium to comprehend how human existence is intertwined with all living forms that co-occur in and shape the Crucial Zone.
Courtesy: My Kolkata
Art is a lovely, magical thing; the purpose of art is frequently to reinterpret something that people have seen a thousand times but to alter their perspective on that thing. Needless to say, ‘Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground’ is a wonderful initiative to help heal the earth by bringing together artists, scientists and scholars to advance the knowledge of the crucial zone among the common masses and as well as promote its significance for the planet and the future. It emphasises the need for multidisciplinary cooperation and discussion in the present times in order to address the problems confronting our planet and build a more sustainable future.
Exhibition Dates:
16 February 2023- 02 April 2023
Location:
Indian Museum, Kolkata
