Artefacting Public Art + Research Practice

Marking the halfway point of our stay in Mumbai and journey into the complex mechanics of Dharavi, we embarked on our first exhibition to showcase some of the initial excavations and to solicit reactions from those that passed by. The location of the exhibition was the Kala Ghoda Pavement Gallery in South Mumbai’s premiere art district – a world far away from the industrial world of Dharavi’s 13th Compound, where the art and photos were produced.

Intent to push the envelope and not settle for the status quo, we trucked in 33 barrels from the 13th Compound as the backdrop for the exhibition. The barrels are a symbol of both the materials that surrounded us daily and the complexity of the social structure in Dharavi; many different communities exist there in their own “barrel” or microcosm. The result was a massive display in the center of a bustling pedestrian zone. During the 10-hour exhibition we were able engage curious onlookers and confront some of the issues that we are uncovering through our research in Dharavi.

Kala Ghoda Street Exhibition from Artefacting Mumbai on Vimeo.

Each person we spoke with was handed a small flyer introducing the project:

On the back of the flyer we posed a number of questions that stem from our experiences in Dharavi – along with a little self promotion slipped in for our final exhibition. Hey, people don’t just magically show up to these things.

We received a variety of feedback and critiques, and plenty of confusing looks as we installed the wall of barrels. Some people were scared by the art while others felt it spoke to an alienated society. Some people (the police) asked us to leave and still others couldn’t make sense of it at all.

The highlight of the whole event for me was seeing the smiles of our good friends Deepak and Ravi, who came down from Dharavi to see the exhibition. The brothers have been invaluable in furthering our research in Dharavi and in making the exhibition possible by giving us access to the barrels and the truck that hauled everything to South Mumbai. We can’t thank them enough for their support and interest in the project. Ravi’s beaming smile spoke for him, but he still said it out loud “I never imagined anything from Dharavi coming down here to be displayed at the gallery.”

Looking back to the roots of this project – using art to tell the story of a community, going beyond the imagery of a “slum” and celebrating social wealth – Ravi’s smile alone could be enough evidence to show that we are succeeding in our mission. With six weeks left and a number of bold projects ahead of us, we hope to replicate that smile on the thousands of faces in Dharavi that were not able to make it to the Kala Ghoda exhibition.

You can scroll through additional photos from the street exhibition below.

• 
• 
• 
• 

  One of the many spectators during set-up
• 
• 
• 
• 

  Alex being interviewed for an art project documentary
• 

  Arne's turn
• 

  Our Dharavi Support Team: Ravi and Deepak Gori
• 
• 

  Take a photo
• 

  Mumbai cops pose with Dharavi Soldier
•