HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RIVER? False Clouds ad Real Deluges

Throughout his career, his practice has focused on waterscapes encompassing cities (such as Delhi, Hamburg, Shanghai, Patna, Varanasi and Milan), semi-urban areas (particularly the river banks of the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Elbe, and the Yangtze), their mythological presences (I was not waving but drowning 2005; Listener from West Heavens 2010; The wake 2013; You always step into the same river 2014), estuaries and ancient harbors (On the edge of the sea, Chennai, Pullicat 2018 and The waters will remember,  Khambhat, Dharmaj, Gujarat 2019).

Atul Bhalla’s talk will engage with his sustained preoccupation with the water in Delhi by discussing some of the processes and manifestations of research works at these sites. Attempting the political through the poetical, in these works he seeks to understand water as a repository of history, meaning and myth: the way he perceives it, feels it, drinks it, and swims, sinks or drowns in it. At the same time, they form the basis of his practice leading to questions of water distribution, regulation, commodification and pollution and that ‘You always step into the same river.’

Atul Bhalla is an internationally exhibited artist, Professor and Head of Department of Department of Art Media and Performance at Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, NCR, India.

Bhalla has explored water’s physical, historical, and political significance in the urban and non-urban environments of several global cities and regions across the world. His artworks incorporate sculpture, painting, installation, video, photography, and performance. Bhalla’s recent engagements include a project Auscultation -‘False Clouds and Real Deluges ‘ a solo show at Vadehra Art Gallery which documents climate change along the 28th N Parallel with World Weather Network and KHOJ 2023. His work is part of the Harvard Art Museums and the Smithsonian collections. More at https://atulbhalla.com/home.php?id=11.