FEATURE

Aretrospective of art projects, focusing on sustainable development, is currently underway at Khoj Studios, Delhi. The series is titled Evidence Room, and the projects are selected from Negotiating Routes: Ecologies of the Byways, a public art initiative also supported by Khoj from 20102014. Mario D’Souza, curator of the retrospective, speaking with Guardian 20 on the significance of the exhibition, says, “We have chosen 13 projects for the show. We have tried to comprehend the broad change that has taken place on various sites where the artists have worked with ecology.” Elaborating further, D’Souza adds, “Through the projects, we are trying to understand how a certain site becomes a sort of evidence of ecological damage. The artist when trying to create a narrative becomes a witness to the site.”

A white radio emitting an unfamiliar language, and glass containers holding plant twigs in liquids, are kept in one of the rooms at Khoj Studios, garnering undivided attention. Upon enquiring with the artist, one learns that advertisements in the Garhwali language, focusing on the importance of medicinal herbs, are being played on loop. The liquid is formaldehyde which is used to preserve the herbs. The artist behind this project, Aas-