JOIN USThis year, in late January, India woke up to the horrifying news of a Tanzanian student being beaten up and partially stripped by a mob in Bengaluru. The incident instantly highlighted how while we were living in denial of its existence, the roots of racism were gaining strength in our country. Mahesh Shantaram, like several Indians, was shocked by this. But in a moment of disbelief, the independent documentary photographer decided to give Africans a voice and recognition by documenting their struggles through photographs. Since then he has met several African students residing in Bengaluru, and has been learning about their experiences. “‘It’s as if they don’t accept us as human beings’, is what I keep hearing amidst all the heart rending stories,” says Shantaram.
The 39-year-old is one of the artists whose works will be displayed at an upcoming exhibition titled ‘Coriolis Effect: Migration and Memory’, which is a culmination of one-month long residency at Khoj Studios. The exhibition, which features Indian and Africa artists, seeks to activate the social, economic and cultural relationship that exists between India and Africa.
During the residency, Shantaram met African community residing in Jalandhra, and Rajpur Khurd Extension and New Ashok Nagar in south and east Delhi, respectively.
His project,‘Looking at You Looking at Me: The African Portraits’ — a collection of ten photographs, will be narrating individual stories.
According to Sitara Chowfla, curator, Khoj Studios, the participatory artistes were asked to look at the past and comprehend the present. Questions like, she says, “What happens to your identity when you lose your place of belonging? What are memories of home and place that you carry with you? ” needed to be addressed.
For instance, Indo-Caribbean artist Andrew Ananda Voogel, centres his work around the indentured labour trade from India to the Caribbean. A descendent of the Jahajis of Guyana, a community whose ancestors were Indian indentured workers brought to the Caribbean as plantation labourers in the early 19th century; his ancestors were separated from their families and forcibly herded into ships leaving for Guyana and other colonies. Memories of their violent departure and exile form an important part of Voogel’s work. “I have worked on a text and textile based project where pieces of different textiles will be printed with phrases that highlight issues of discrimination, I got these phrases from various African people I interviewed in Khirki, from newspaper reports, and from my own personal history of multi-generational trauma,” says Voogel.
Delhi-based Malini Kochupillai has created a 12-page mock newspaper in Hindi and English titled ‘Khirkee Voice’ and ‘Khirkee ki Awaaz’ for which both Africans and Indians — living together in Khirki Extension and at the studio have contributed articles. “Apart from the wider narrative of everyday racism that seems to pervade our society, migrants also form an intricate network of systems of support and survival in what can often be hostile conditions,” she says.
“In my photographic exploration of the African community in Khirki, I have come across many examples of this mutual and begrudging understanding, leading me to ponder some existential questions,” she adds.
Coriolis Effect: Migration and Memory will be displayed at Khoj Studios from September 29 to October 4.