This installation is my analogy for the life in India as it unpacks more meaning the more one interacts with it. At first glance, the disarray of elements seems random, that is to say, to the foreign eye India can appear chaotic and lacking infrastructure. However, upon taking a journey and experiencing the culture for yourself, you gain another perspective: the “random” pieces line up to create a geometric shape and reveal order amongst chaos. The geometry in the linking fragments is derived from the Flower of Life in the Sacred Geometry that is present in Indian architecture as well as in the design of the Lotus flower, a national symbol of India.
Although not perfect, there are, in fact, systems in place. They are different than what we are used to in the west, and they work.
Still, the system is handling more people than what it was designed for and can bear; the forces of tension and compression in the installation represent that strain.
Using reclaimed materials is intended to point not only that the system is old and has flaws, but also the opportunities within it. Recycling industry is a prominent business in India. Discarded goods are salvaged by people, pulled apart and sold for parts or recycled. Thus, used materials are not necessarily disposed; instead, everything that can be sorted is put back into the system. Likewise, I have recovered old lumber and repurposed it to make something new.
If you follow the blue footsteps, your journey will lead you to discover another vantage point to understand my story.
