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Artist's Extinction Archive: Ash, Laser Dots Mourn Species
6 Feb
Summary
- Artist uses ash and pesticide-dipped rice paper to depict over 900 species.
- Laser dots symbolize uncountable deaths across species due to human crises.
- The art serves as a memorial to ecological and social violence.
At the 17th India Art Fair, artist Kulpreet Singh presents 'Extinction Archive,' a powerful installation questioning humanity's trajectory. Nearly a thousand square panels, made from pesticide-dipped rice paper and ash from stubble burning, depict over 900 threatened animal, fungal, and plant species. Laser dots on each panel signify the uncountable deaths resulting from various man-made crises, from pollution to climate change.
The work, commissioned by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, acts as a memorial to ecological and social violence. Singh, based in Patiala, aims to archive the transformed environment, highlighting issues like farm fires, polluted rivers, and increasing carbon pollution. He expresses concern that elements of nature are slipping from collective consciousness, with many species now existing only in imagination.
Species like the Mauritian giant skink and white blotched shrub frog, drawn from the IUCN Red List, are featured. Singh connects his art to farmers' plight, using stubble ash and pesticide imagery to represent farmers who have died by suicide due to environmental ruin. The 'Extinction Archive' is an ongoing project, with Singh planning to add more endangered species.
