A guide to sustainable living through quirky illustrations -SRILAGNA MAJUMDAR
A major tech hub and home to many upscale restaurant chains and brands, Hyderabad is a vibrant city with a diverse population and centuries of rich cultural history. Besides, the city is bestowed with multiple active art colleges and talented artists of different genres. During the past decade, art in Hyderabad has seen a steady growth in the number of art exhibitions, fairs and festivals. Many unconventional exhibition curations also found place in the art arena of the city, making it one of the emerging art destinations in the country.
In a world where the urgency around climate change becomes increasingly evident with each passing day, art has emerged as a powerful medium for contemporary artists for expressing the complexities of our relationship with the environment and navigating the paths towards a sustainable living. Currently, Dhi Contemporary located in Madhapur, Hyderabad is presenting the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh editions of the Climate Recipes project, which focuses on conversations around natural farming, agroecological practices, restoration of biodiversity, and community well-being. This exhibition, curated by Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi & Srinivas Mangipudi marks the second edition of Climate Recipes, an itinerant project envisioned as a growing archive of intergenerational wisdom relayed from conversations with people committed to the issues of land and the environment.
The climate recipes, illustrated by Srinivas Mangipudi through simple yet powerful drawings in monochrome on the gallery walls, are concise, intimate, everyday instructions from architects, journalists, scientists, activists, artists, and farmers that suggest different ways of reorienting our vision of a flourishing planet. They serve as entry points for an adaptable life suggesting diverse ways of farming, foresting, sharing, listening, and most importantly, living. The recipes in this edition are gathered from conversations with experts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and are represented within the gallery space as drawings and spatial installations. The project Climate Recipes ( https://climate.recipes/) he project extends to expand and spatialize the scope of knowledge gathered across indigenous resilience, urban sustainability, agroecological farming, and adapting to the shifts in our living sustainably and with respect.
Among the experts from diverse backgrounds with whom the curators conversed to put together climate recipes are Prudhviraj Rupavath (Journalist, land and forest governance researcher at Land Conflict Watch), Kavitha Kuruganti (Social activist, founder of ASHA – Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture), Yeshwant Ramamurthy (Architect and founder of Studio One Architects, Hyderabad), Madhu Reddy (Photographer and farmer, Aiyor Bai, Yacharam, Telangana), Chirag Dhara (Climate scientist and assistant professor, Krea University, Andhra Pradesh) and Susie Tharu(Writer, professor and co-editor of Women Writing in India – 600 B.C to the Present), to name a few.
Once, we used to live a life that was content and self-sufficient. We were grateful and happy. Where did we lose that life? As the curators emphasized during their walkthrough on the opening day of the exhibition at Dhi Contemporary, their prime motive behind creating the illustrations and put out the recipes through catchy one liners is to make the intergenerational knowledge accessible to all, irrespective of age, sex, background and all other divarications. The scribbles, doodles, pointers on the stretched cotton cloth installation in the midst of the gallery space projects the visual notes taken by the curators throughout the process behind staging the exhibition. The recipes can be read as ‘knowledge capsules’ hinting towards adapting to change and making an attempt to reattach oneself with nature through simple acts. A couple of the illustrations throw light on the raging issue of farmers’ oppression and small and fragmented land holdings, lack of marketing and storage facilities and poor adoption of mechanization during the extreme hot and dry months in Telangana.
Drifting away from the concepts of white wall curation, the gallery space has been utilised effectively and meaningfully through sculptural installations, and detailed, comical flowcharts by Srinivas Mangipudi on organic cotton cloth. The flowcharts, derived from the conversations of the curators with the climate and farming experts, shorten the gap between theoretical scientific jargon and one’s daily interaction with nature in all forms. The illustrations of industrial landscapes, grasslands turned into dumpsters, deforested regions, Srinivas Mangipurdi exposes the scale of environmental degradation, compelling viewers to confront the consequences of unchecked consumption and exploitation, while also emphasising on collective effort for a holistic wellbeing.
On March 30th, the exhibition was inaugurated with a walkthrough of the show by the curators, which was attended by artists and art enthusiasts from the city. The space was beaming with hope and newfound knowledge. This show is also an attempt to make intergenerational knowledge accessible and to simplify academic jargon to understand nature. One of the most strikingly evocative recipes was one by poet and professor Sikhamani. Named ‘Hold a fistful of soil’, aided by an installation of a vessel filled with soil, and the recitation by the poet playing in background, it offers the visitors an enriching experience and a simple way to reconnect with nature.
“At the heart of the Climate Recipes project is a desire to archive intergenerational wisdom before it is lost. The project is a labour of love since each conversation makes us think that the solutions for community empowerment are all around us. We do not need to go elsewhere to devise strategies for sustainability. We have to listen and learn from all our lived experiences.” say Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi & Srinivas Mangipudi, the curators of the exhibition. The dearth of bright lighting adds a sublime aura to the space, making one delve deeper into sensing the ways of reconnecting with the environment far away from the concrete beneath one’s feet. The sculptural installations by Harsha Durugadda connect the illustrations to a material dimension of love and concern for nature. The two mycelium sculptures in the shape of mushrooms promise to renew the viewer’s sensitivity towards the environment.
Throughout the exhibition, there is a strong emphasis on the interconnectedness of all living beings and ecosystems. Despite the somber subject matter, there is a thread of hope woven throughout the show. Several illustrations in the form of ‘recipes’ highlight innovative solutions and grassroots questions asking about a more sustainable future. From community foresting to waste management projects, these drawings serve as a reminder that change is not impossible when individuals come together with a shared vision. Interactive activity sheets given to the visitors invite them to reflect on their own connection with nature and ask them to formulate ways in which they can make a positive impact in their daily lives.
The Climate Recipes seem to be more like a conversation starter. The wisdom gathered from around 20 experts holistically has the insights on how to tackle the issue of climate change by looking back at our indigenous knowledge. The recipes contain life experiences, and knowledge of people who come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from academicians to poets, architects to farmers, scientists to environmentalists. The intention behind collating this knowledge is to create a trove of local wisdom that is embedded in our daily practices and simple acts. Such simple acts, more often than not, have a deeper meaning. The project, on view at Dhi Contemporary for two whole months, showcases healing recipes for our planet to evoke care and awareness around the growing degradation of land, water, air and biosphere. While we often grapple with the complexities of climate change and nuanced perspectives on issues ranging from environmental justice to the intersection of capitalism and sustainability, it is refreshing to see a simple yet honest approach to break down these issues.
SRILAGNA MAJUMDAR
Originally from Kolkata, Srilagna has an academic background in History and Diasporic Studies, and is the assistant curator in an art gallery in Hyderabad. She is an avid reader and an animal lover who loves all things art.
