The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is presenting the first major UK exhibition of new work by the internationally acclaimed Indian artist Amar Kanwar. The exhibition, in YSP’s Underground Gallery, centres on The Sovereign Forest (2012–), which explores the impact of mining and other commercial activities on the landscape and communities of Odisha (formerly Orissa), India.
The Sovereign Forest presents poetic and complex contemporary narratives in which intimate personal experience is linked to far-reaching social and political developments. An installation of film, books, seeds and ephemera, it was internationally acclaimed at dOCUMENTA (13) and the Kochi Murziris Biennale. Produced with multiple collaborations between the artist and several groups, institutions, farmers, artists and activists
in India, The Sovereign Forest has particular resonance at YSP, which
is on the Yorkshire coalfields and ringed by former mining communities. The Sovereign Forest has its most extensive iteration to date at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Central to the installation is The Scene of Crime (2010), a 42-minute film shown in the UK for the first time, which presents the natural landscape of the eastern coastal state of Odisha ahead of acquisition and division by industry for commercial use. The film reveals a unique insight into what the artist describes as a ‘war against the people and their land’ and is presented alongside a range of ‘poetic evidence’ in multiple forms and vocabularies, organic material, legal and personal artefacts, framed docu- mentation and ephemera, including residents’ proof of right to occupy.
The exhibition debuts a new element of The Sovereign Forest and a commission by the artist especially for YSP. The Listening Benches are Kanwar’s first sculptural objects for the open air, sited around YSP’s Bothy Garden, a place for pause and contemplation overlooking the 18th century Bretton Estate and coalfields beyond.
Recycled from the timber of a 19th-century organ formerly housed in
the YSP estate chapel, The Listening Benches are, in part, inspired by
the knowledge and selective use of multiple local species of wood by carpenters. The benches also refer to the Park’s existing memorial seats which demonstrate the deep personal attachment visitors experience with the landscape, while the audio installation gives voice to the now defunct organ and allows the artist to continue the oral traditions of story telling with his own words and narratives.
Organic materials in the installation, such as 272 different varieties of
rice seeds brought together from the terrain of crime, point to the preservation of knowledge systems, disappearance of indigenous crops and the influence of global agriculture and high-yield sterile seeds on
small farmers. Exquisite, handmade books with texts silk-screened onto banana-fibre paper with jewel-like images projected from above, tell lyrical and moving stories. In these stories, Kanwar shines a light on the intimate concerns of those affected by the flux of global demands, revealing human situations of strength and compassion. The Counting Sisters and The One Alone are stories of exceptional abilities, The Prediction, tells of a crime that took place 22 years ago and The Constitution with its embedded words are a few of the narratives included.
The second film in the exhibition includes A Love Story (2010), an urban counter point and cyclical companion to The Scene of Crime, it memorably documents the break up of a romance in four acts through music, pace and visual sequences. Set on a rubbish dump at the edge of an expanding Indian city, the film presents a world of continuous migration and separations.
Artist and social activist, Amar Kanwar is renowned for his compelling and meditative filmic essays, which evolve from documentary practice and explore the political, social, economic and ecological conditions of the Indian subcontinent. His multimedia works question the validity of historical ‘facts’ without human stories and poetry becomes a subtle but powerful force. Having journeyed through distress and dislocation, the works of The Sovereign Forest frequently return to the natural world and the implication of its ability to nurture and heal. Kanwar points to possible routes by which we can navigate.
The associated public programme includes opportunities for all ages to delve into the themes and issues of Kanwar’s work and their relevance within contemporary society, including a talk by actor, presenter and explorer Michael Palin. There will be a focus on YSP’s woodland ecology through tours and workshops as well as a special session convened to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the miners’ strike to consider the historical and continued impact of mining internationally and locally.
Born in New Delhi in 1964, where he lives and works. Kanwar has distinguished himself through films and multimedia works, which often explore the politics of power, violence, sexuality, and justice. In 2005 Kanwar received the 1st Edward Munch Award for Contemporary Art and holds an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Maine College of Art, Portland, ME. He is the holder of the MacArthur Fellowship in India, and has won the Golden Gate Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1999. Kanwar’s films include The Trilogy: A Season Outside (1997); A Night of Prophecy (2002); To Remember (2003); the 19-part installation The Torn First Pages (2004-08); the eight part installation The Lightning Testimonies (2007); A Love Story (2010); The Sovereign Forest (2012-).
Photo: A Love Story, 2010, courtesy Amar Kanwar and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Paris. Commissioned by the Independent Cinema Office and LUX, England.
AMAR KANWAR: The SoveReigN FoReST + oTheR SToRieS
12 october 2013 – 2 February 2014
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Underground gallery and open air