Carte Blanche : Manisha Pushkale at Musée Guimet, Paris
- tanishagandhi96
- Sep 18, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 4, 2024
To Whom the Bird Should Speak?
18 october 2023- 4 march 2024
Written by : Tanisha Gandhi
To reviving a lost language and reflecting on the effects of globalization on indigenous societies
The little world of the installation To whom the bird should speak? is created by three-meter-high screens placed in a labyrinth-like fashion, urging the viewer to interact with all the different facades of the work as they meander through to discover a story not many are aware of.
Manish Pushkale depicts the lost language Aka-Bo of the Bo tribe nestled in the Andaman islands in the Bay of Bengal. Through dots, signs and dashes he recreates the score of the spoken language to educate the viewers of the vulnerability and loss of intangible cultures and traditions of indigenous societies due to globalization.
Born in Bhopal, Pushkale’s background is in geology and paleontology which transcribes into his practice as a self-taught artist just like his love for music. The repetitive lines and shapes form a melody onto the artist’s handmade papers that give you an impression of being in the caves of Lascaux. As you weave around the installation, the height of the screens alludes to the creation of a safe space for the Bo tribe, elongated from society. As you drift through their space you feel their uncertainty of whether to join the globalized world or to retreat in the comfort of their heritage and traditions.
Through this installation, Pushkale spreads the knowledge of the continued presence and preciousness of unknown traditions tucked away around the world. His work made me reflect on the importance of keeping these traditions alive when we are amidst constant global advancement and change. Pushkale, the poet of silence whose mentor is Indian abstract art’s genius SH Raza, has managed to compose a song out of history that allows us to be the guardians of tradition so that the Bo tribe can sing again.
I’d like to thank Yannick Litz and Claire Bettinelli for giving this artist a carte blanche for this spectacular space in such a prestigious museum in Paris.
TLDR? GO VISIT! The exposition is on view through 4 march 2024.
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