Call for climate action

Over 50 objects at Triveni Kala Sangam gallery depict climate change impact, urging action for environmental justice. The exhibition titled Museum of Memories is by Greenpeace

Inside the Triveni Kala Sangam gallery, over 50 objects belonging to individuals and families affected by extreme weather events are on display as a stark reminder of how global warming impacts mankind. Old and worn-out clothes, utensils, table fans, and furniture items weave an emotional tale of how floods, fires, droughts and landslides cause loss to human lives and property.

The exhibits also underline the resilience of the survivors of catastrophic events such as the Kerala floods or the swelling rivers during the monsoon in various parts of the country; the intense heat wave faced by the street vendors, fires in slums or the parched earth in Bihar.

The exhibits carry diverse spectrum of stories spanning regions, timelines, different sets of people, and the vagaries of weather. The attempt to showcase recreated objects that were lost or damaged in calamities hints at hope for new life and the value of restoration.

The exhibition curator, Amruta S N, says, “We want people to come in with no expectations and go out with a lot of hope. It is tough to experience memories of loss but we want the audience to get inspired to effect a change to save the environment.” Climate action is an inspiring change, she adds.

Artists Shanto Antony and Sumit Kizhoor have mounted elaborate and moving illustrations to depict climate change through art. For instance, Kizhoor has created a wall of fabric dolls titled ‘The One that Survived’. It is based on the sustainable initiative of Lakshmi Menon who handcrafted chekkutty dollsusing damaged fabric to raise funds to support the weavers hit by the 2018 floods of Kerala.

Antony’s painting ‘Blood Red Map’ is an intriguing representation of an intersection between menstruation and climate justice. It is a vivid depiction using thermal mapping on a canvas of sanitary pads. “I have tried to highlight the need for a gender-inclusive approach to environmental justice, given the lack of adequate representation of health and social issues faced by women in the informal sector,” he says.

 Photographs by freelance journalist Bhumika Saraswati depict a similar theme. Through her ‘women in resistance’ works, she portrays that heat affects the health of women working in the informal sector in different ways and needs to be addressed.