Voice of Soil
Introduction
We are two professionals and academicians from Surat, India with expertise in art, architecture, urban design, photography and film-making. Along with numerous scientists around the world, we strongly believe that awareness towards climate change, needs to be educated to our youth. As artists, we have sought in the creation of a national art journey; Voice of Soil - a ‘Parikrama’, that will bring not only awareness in the general youth of India, but also benefit numerous under-privileged children in our country.
On 15 th August 2019, We are embarking alone, on a nearly two year long Parikrama, travelling about 25,000 km across all states of India, through roughly 300 cities and villages, to create a mega canvas. This art work will be created in a continuous relay process with the help of the thousands of children and youth.
We have dedicated this project for our country. Forsaking comfort and luxury, we will undertake this journey in the ancient order of monks, eating and living with people as we travel. The soil-artwork will capture the ethos of all these people on a single canvas. Experts have said, this artwork, if successfully completed, will be monumental in stature.
We are aware of the hardships and risks that are to be faced by our families on account of this journey of ours. But the call of a larger cause is so overbearing on us, almost magnetic, that we cannot ignore it and are anyways proceeding towards it. It is our prayer that the outcome of our endeavor would have some positive impact on the way we look at art and conservation of our environment.
“People who have been touched by the idea of our Parikrama, came forward to help us, and to become a part of this spiritual process. But no mater of what measure they contributed for this cause, it was a pure gesture coming directly from their heart. We have not tried to coax, convince, sell, advertise or market anyone to fund us. We haven’t categorized anyone as our Donors / Contributors, based on the amounts they have forwarded.”
What change can a work of art possibly bring around in the lives of people? If one looks at art only as a medium of aesthetic pleasure or visual décor then one is still trapped in a limited vision. In the history of human civilization, art has been a phenomenal tool for presenting a fresh perspective of looking at life, challenging notions and rising beyond mere passage of factual information, thus sometimes creating a cultural uprising or even social revolution. Art is not a mere tool to indulge in the secondary necessities of life, once the primary ones of survival are fulfilled. It is an elaborate act of expression, a primary instinctive phenomenon that weaves the history of existence and life forms together. Sometimes the need to express is almost as penetrating as the need to survive. The enquiry about the role of art in our lives is of primary importance to us.
Increasing Public awareness and sensitivity towards (1) Re-introduction of Art as an essential and powerful tool for the development of children and youth of India. (2) Importance of soil as a major component of global climate change issues.
Our absorption of the thinking pattern and current state of mind of children, including the understanding of the socio-cultural ethos and the attitude towards art and education of the under-privileged children of India.
It is dynamic and not static. It is not a painting but a performance art- a series of impromptu acts emerging from the depths of latent values of culture, coming together to unite the people and creating a painting with the help of the children. The pigment medium is also unique- pure soil obtained from the local land.
To create an singular artwork that is a living testimony of the current lives, conditions and aspirations of different communities in India. This artwork is expected to raise funds which will be directed towards the education of art for the under-privileged children of India.
Two artists (The curators of this artwork) will be travelling throughout India carrying a single canvas scroll of a few hundred meters and completing the canvas painting with the help of the children of different settlements/communities in a continuous sequence process, by a participatory method including interaction and performance.
Artwork Concept
This artwork is not about topics as we understand it, but about our understanding of topics.It is the story of the lives of people, in the current frame of time, as it is, as they are. It is neither a static depiction of existing physical forms nor a romanticised static abstraction of perceived reality. It will rather be a dynamic footprint of reality itself, closest to its purest form of occurrence, unfolding in front of you in the exact sequence of how the curators witness it on their journey. This canvas is truly a visual narrative of what happens in the lives of thousands of Indians in a timespan of over a year through these soulful exchanges with the curators, on this journey.
When you look at a painting or a photograph, you maybe virtually transported to a different space and time. But you still remain an observer in a frame. This artwork however, is literally breathing. You could even touch and smell it; and the moment you do, you become a part of the subliminal boundary that time had created around this piece of art. The act of you enquiring into this canvas is not an unexpected one. In fact the last piece of act that completes this performance artwork is your imagination and interpretation of the lives of people absorbed in the canvas.
The purity of soil used as a pigment makes the physical form of the canvas dichotomous. It can either be perishable or else it could become an icon, surviving great passage of time. In either ways this canvas has the promise of a material that history is written about. How we frame it is just a matter of perspective - but the truth of the soil will always remain unchanged.
WHY SOIL
We, human beings, are earthly creatures. Physically or psychologically, whenever we say ‘grounded’ we enforce a deeply rooted connection with soil. Many may not believe it, but our existence is directly connected with soil, which has existed millions of years before the birth of humans. Soil forms an essential part of ancient culture, in all human civilizations. It's importance in our socio-cultural psyche can be traced in every form of human endeavour- shelter, food, art, craft, music, folktale, celebration and even religion. As current science already has proven a fact- what ancient humans already knew- soil is a secret component of climate stabilization - a subject of global research today.
The carbon cycle is the exchange of carbon in various forms like carbon dioxide and others, between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial biosphere and geological deposits. Most of Co2 in the atmosphere comes from biological reactions that take place in the soil. Carbon sequestration occurs, when carbon from the atmosphere is absorbed and stored in the soil. This is a vital function because the more carbon is stored in the soil, the less Co2 will be in the atmosphere contributing to climate change. Soil stores almost three times the amount of carbon than what is currently there in the atmosphere. Soil carbon sequestration also increases the ability of soil to hold moisture, withstand erosion and enrich ecosystem diversity which help cropping systems to better withstand drought and floods. Soil has a major role to play in climate change.
The 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the Paris climate change agreement marks sustainable soil management as a crucial element. It takes thousands of years to form 1cm depth of soil, yet it is being destroyed in no time at all by our unsustainable infrastructure practices. The United Nations food and agriculture organisation (FAO) estimates that 33% of our global soil have been degraded. This highlights the urgent need to raise awareness on protecting soil and using it sustainably. Hence, soil holds the key to mitigating climate change.
It is thus very obvious, that when we, as artists, have ventured out to re-imagine art and work with children across all regional borders, we must use a medium that transcends all barriers and holds an immense amount of history in itself. This artwork could not have had any other pigment, than the one element that holds the key to our existence- Soil.
WHY ART AND CHILDREN ?
Of the 472 million children in India, 99 million have dropped out of school5 . By 2020 the majority of Indian population will be youth. As much as over-population and malnourishment is an issue, education and its quality is an equal concern.
The role of art education in the wholesome development of a child’s personality and enhancement of creativity and individuality has been well illustrated in the Country Report(2010) prepared by the Dept. of Education in Arts & Aesthetics, National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT). The Eleventh Five Year Plan prepared by the Ministry of Culture has its mandate to preserve and promote all forms of art and culture. This ministry is working towards the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage of our country. The very important ‘Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009’ by the Govt.of India has been formulated for providing free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. This act reinforces the promotion and implementation of arts education in India.
Our urban counterparts needs to de-stigmatize notions about art. A vast majority are still harbouring the idea that art is a ‘visually pleasing piece of work’ which is patronised by the elite few and practiced by even fewer. It largely remains beyond the domain of the common man. The role of an artist is many times confused with that of a vocational skill practitioner, working for the industrious forerunners of the economic grid for profit. But the history of our subcontinent suggests otherwise.
In the urban framework the learning process applies a great amount of stress towards cognitive skills as compared to the role of emotional values. Experts in the field of neuroscience have also suggested that art, can bring about a better balance between the cognitive and emotional development in human beings and thus pave way to orchestrate a culture of peace.
The body and mind of each child responds and functions in an unique way, not trying to generally emulate that of others. That is a talent in itself and our endeavour is to recognize such talent as an identity, instead of being focused on ‘under-privileged’.
The process of ‘Voice of Soil’ is based on the pure curiosity of exploring human life.
It is thus essential, that a work that begins with dissolving pre-notions and garnering human sensitivity, must be executed by none other than hundreds of children, who hold the future of our country.
CODE OF TRAVEL (throughout the 2 year Parikrama-journey)
- To travel alone without any permanent accompanying team.
- To be in touch with media only for update of our journey and location (via phone & GPS).
- To not use or carry any digital map/navigation.
- To use only postal or courier service to communicate in general through physical copies, letters and photographs only.
- To utilise any sponsorship amount, only for its precise and designated purpose. We will not use it for our own additional comfort or personal gratifications.
WHY ?
Travel must be pure. Our understanding of purity is simple; not perceive but receive. We must leave aside our general patterns of perception and understand life-forms and energy, the way it exists and the way we receive it naturally.
On this journey, we not only want to travel but also absorb the sensitive understandings of humans. That is not possible without a full immersion into the lives of people and inside the realities of their perception. We must eat, rest and live with them, in the closest manner possible without any imprints of our personal lives or distractions. Our aim is not to advertise only visual qualities.
Online information only gives us certain answers; it does not teach us how to give birth to questions. The use of technology should not cripple the mind to become unaware and unavailable to receive the pure energy of our surroundings. The ease of technology (internet info, maps etc.) should also not rob us of the opportunity to interact with people and receive first-hand emotions, not just information. It’s use should only be to enhance certain physical shortcomings.
We want to emphasise these ideologies on our own lives first and thus seek to inspire hundreds of youth likewise.
CHALLENGES/ HAZARDS
- Food : Travelling into unfamiliar territories and arranging food and water. Scarcity can lead to serious health issues.
- Accommodation : Staying on the road, or outdoors or local communities in unfamiliar territories
- Health : Continuous travelling and living outdoors in rains, extreme cold weather condition, changing climate, low oxygen levels, can cause diseases and other serious health issues.
- Stamina : continuous travel for long durations outdoors, with only occasional halts or night stays, pose a serious threat to physical body parts.
- Security : security of vehicle, belongings and self, from theft, man-handling, tampering, hooliganism, harassment, local militants or other forms of crime is a major concern.
- Accidental damage : to vehicle or Belongings or Self OR all of the three.
- Artwork execution : Single-handedly carrying the 300m canvas safely and managing the necessary supplies to quickly create the desired artwork in a stipulated time with every community.
Communication or interaction with local ethnic groups in almost 300 regions , most of whose language is completely unknown to us.
Expected Outcome
We plan to invite all those who have participated in the ‘Voice of Soil' to the special events, exhibits, auctions related to this work after this two year travel. By getting connected, they themselves can get empowered in their area of talent by receiving global recognition and support. This way they get a better world view exposure, individual motivation and can inspire millions of others directly, through such idea-exchange platforms.
We aim to generate funds by receiving support from below listed and similar bodies:
A) Government of India
B) UNESCO
C) UN
D) Institute of Soil Sciences, Australia
E) Museum of modern art (MoMA)
F) Art For All Foundation
G) Art & Cultural Foundation, EU
H) Earth Institute, Auroville
I) Give India
J) LDF, USA
These funds as mentioned earlier, will be utilized for the cause of:
Increasing Public awareness and sensitivity towards Re-introduction of Art as an essential and powerful development tool for the children and youth of India.
Travel Route
Start & End point — Surat, Gujarat
Total distance — 25,000 KMs (20,753+ diversions)
Total duration — 547 Days approx.
Commencement — 15th August 2019
TRAVEL ROUTE SELECTION
India is such a diverse country-rich in culture, history and consciousness. Within her boundaries she carries a boundless world ethos. To absorb her rich diversity, this project entails a travel throughout the whole country. Taking the trail along the periphery of India is a natural response as it enables us to travel through all the states and receive the uniqueness of each.
The periphery travel is essentially also a journey along the border. In the peninsula it is about the marriage of water with land and up north it is about the co-existence with ethnic culture whom we call neighboring countries.