Jumbo exhibition on ‘coexistence’ comes to town

100 elephants made from lantana are the focus of a unique show.

A month-long exhibition is bringing to Bengaluru wooden sculptures of 100 life-size elephants to spread the message of coexistence. Sixty such elephants will be unveiled at Lalbagh on Saturday and smaller herds will be put on view at lakes, metro stations, tech campuses and colleges soon after.

Public can stroke their trunks, click photos with them and feel one with wildlife. “Often, people are moved by their eyes. These are beautifully carved,” says Tarsh Thekaekara, who has conceptualised the ‘Coexistence: The Great Elephant Migration’ project along with Shubhra Nayar and Ruth Ganesh.

The project is bringing art, advocacy and conservation together. Every sculpture is modelled after a real elephant that coexists with people in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, spanning Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The elephants are carved out of lantana camara, a toxic weed that is said to usurp the fodder base of elephants. About 150 tribal artisans are earning a livelihood by making the lantana elephants. These sculptures are auctioned to fund conservation projects. Thekaekara says the project is trying to “change the paradigm” at a time when instances of human-animal conflicts are increasing. “Though the media focuses on conflicts, the truth is conflict is rare — coexistence is the de facto way (of living in India),” he says. In the same vein, he says an entire herd gets targeted for the damage caused by a few errant elephants.

Thekaekara holds a PhD in human-elephant interactions and is a conservationist-researcher by profession. Shubhra is a designer, working in theatre, dance and life-size puppetry. Ruth Ganesh is a creative conservationist and philanthropist.

What to expect

Besides the exhibition, they will host a film festival, a photo exhibition, a photography contest, nature walks, street plays, role-play games, 50 expert talks, and ‘Kere habba’ to celebrate the role of lakes in boosting urban biodiversity — all on the theme of coexistence and all free to participate. “It’s taken a year of planning. We are working with 27 institutions in Bengaluru,” Thekaekara comments on pulling off this elephantine project.

Also on the roster are round-tables with scientists. The objective, he says, is to draft an action plan about co-existence with elephants in Bengaluru, managing invasive species, and adopting WHO-recommended One Health approach to optimise the health of humans, animals and the environment.

‘Call for the global north’

The first exhibition had unveiled 45 lantana elephants in Cochin in 2019, then a herd of 125 in London in 2021, and about 10 in Chennai in 2022. “The project is a call for the global north to see how Indians have always coexisted with wildlife,” Thekaekara says. After the Bengaluru sojourn, these 100 elephants will tour across the USA.

February 3 to March 3. For schedule, visit coexistenceconsortium.com