Saju Kunhan b. 1983
Settlement #2, 2021
Mixed media on wood
(HSN Code: 970300)
(HSN Code: 970300)
108 x 60 inches
9 x 5 feet (6 Panels)
3 x 2.5 feet (each panel)
9 x 5 feet (6 Panels)
3 x 2.5 feet (each panel)
Copyright Saju Kunhan, 2021
These are two works with one title. In Settlement #1, what you can see is a settlement which has been developed in the middle of a desert and in Settlement...
These are two works with one title. In Settlement #1, what you can see is a settlement which has been developed in the middle of a desert and in Settlement #2, a settlement is developing inside a forest. In first work the design of the settlement is similar to 'Zaatari Refugee Camp', a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. Here the movement of the people has been restricted. And in second work it looks like inside an Amazon forest. Where a significant portion of the forest has been removed systematically.
There are two kinds of settlements here, in one case you are forcefully moved by someone, in another case you are escaping from somebody. In the first case you seek some asylum, but what you get is in the middle of a barren land, where you struggle hard to sustain. In the second case you are choosing hide out places where you hardly get noticed. In first work people are engaged with agricultural activities and in second work they are busy with commercial works. The contrast is you choose desert for agriculture and forest for commercial works.
It is believed that Saju's ancestors escaped to unnoticed places and made their settlement over there and carried out agricultural activities to survive. Here agriculture is just for survival. But there are other instances where a local ruler has invited certain communities of people from other countries of far locations to carry out certain commercial works in his country. So these people develop their own distinct settlement.
This work also reminds Saju of the agricultural activities that he was a part of during his childhood.
There are two kinds of settlements here, in one case you are forcefully moved by someone, in another case you are escaping from somebody. In the first case you seek some asylum, but what you get is in the middle of a barren land, where you struggle hard to sustain. In the second case you are choosing hide out places where you hardly get noticed. In first work people are engaged with agricultural activities and in second work they are busy with commercial works. The contrast is you choose desert for agriculture and forest for commercial works.
It is believed that Saju's ancestors escaped to unnoticed places and made their settlement over there and carried out agricultural activities to survive. Here agriculture is just for survival. But there are other instances where a local ruler has invited certain communities of people from other countries of far locations to carry out certain commercial works in his country. So these people develop their own distinct settlement.
This work also reminds Saju of the agricultural activities that he was a part of during his childhood.
Literature
Republic World, Colours of the weekend Mumbai Art Walks: Galleries Full To Bursting Again, A Fresh Experience Each Weekend, Feb 7 2022https://www.republicworld.com/lifestyle/art/mumbai-art-walks-galleries-full-to-bursting-again-a-fresh-experience-each-weekend-articleshow.html