Curated by Experimenter | 19 January - 15 April 2024
Ground Floor Gallery | Friday | 11am
Sea of Fists
1 October 2024 | Tuesday | 11am
OVERVIEW
Sea of Fists by Prabhakar Pachpute is a traveling exhibition that reimagines the gestures and motions central to social movements. Now on display for the first time in India, the immersive installation draws inspiration from the Indian farmers’ protests of 2017-2018. It features dream-like landscapes and anamorphic figures that highlight the resistance born from the environmental and social impacts of extraction. Coming from a mining and farming community in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, Pachpute reflects on his origins to explore the conditions for vitality and justice. The figures and landscapes in Sea of Fists raise questions about resource extraction, energy harvesting, and the struggle for justice. Through themes of solidarity, motion, community, and fantasy, the work invites viewers to envision new social realities and offers hope for a future based on welfare, unity, and harmony over conflict and alienation.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Prabhakar Pachpute is a multidisciplinary artist based in Pune, India, whose practice is deeply influenced by his Maharashtrian origins including familial ties to the farming and coal mining industries in India. Celebrated for his evocative use of charcoal alongside other mediums such as drawing, light installations, stop-motion animation, and sculpture, Pachpute’s practice employs several creative disciplines to examine the physical, social, and ecological impact of extractive practices globally.
By presenting surrealist motifs against the often literal backdrop of portraiture and landscapes, Pachpute critically addresses themes of labor, environmental degradation, and societal transformation in his immersive, site-specific installations. Rooted in the mining history of Maharashtra, these aesthetic narratives transcend regional boundaries, combining personal memories with broader research to highlight global concerns.
In examining the intricate relationships between humanity, nature, and industrial progress, Pachpute’s practice offers poignant commentary on the enduring effects of economic and environmental exploitation through a compelling visual language that engages audiences worldwide, fostering dialogue about sustainability, resistance, and social justice.