In the photograph titled, ‘An Elephant and a Log’, a full grown elephant is standing next to a log of timber. This 1998 click from the timber yard in Hut Bay, Little Andaman Island, is one of Pankaj Sekhsaria’s favourite, as he points out, “The diameter of the log is roughly the height of that full grown elephant and it is a stark reminder of the richness and bigness of the Andaman forests. It is a picture that never fails to evoke a gasp from anyone who sees it the first time.” But, this isn’t the only picture at the ongoing exhibition, “Island Worlds… of Land and Sea” which leaves viewers is awe and admiration for the creative eye and timing of the man, who wears multiple hats of a researcher, writer, photographer and an academician with ease and utmost perfection. There is a vivid, almost fluorescent capture of jelly fish in the frame titled, “Jellyfish at the jetty, Ross Island” and a spectacular photograph of the bottom of a mangrove tree whose roots slightly submerged in water and are being kissed by soft sun rays. What further adds to their individual beauty is the fact that Pankaj has reproduced these images on silk, which has lent a new dimension of luminosity to these frames.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been pivotal to Pankaj’s work for close to two decades. But he had first witnessed the unadulterated beauty of the islands for two months in his final year of engineering. His friend was posted in Port Blair and he got a chance to travel extensively so much so that memories from that trip are still vivid in his mind. However, what really sows the seeds of interest for these islands, its endangering ecology and threat to indigenous people was a meeting with Samir Acharya of ‘Society for Andaman Nicobar Ecology’. “There was a lot to understand and learn about several issues and this interaction got me further interested, and I decided to do some more work in the islands,” he recalls.
After some years, he came back for a research project through Kalpavriksh, an environmental action group he has been associated with for close to 15 years, and since then has not only become a prominent voice for these islands, but has been , assiduously documenting several aspects of the changes its people and ecology are undergoing. The exhibition is an extension of this dimension, as Pankaj says, “Through these images, I wanted to show the beauty of the place, the ecological richness, something about the human communities and yes, of the changes that have taken place over the years including some of the deforestation and destruction. My underlying idea and hope is that an exercise like this will help create awareness about the place, but also a platform for discussion”.
The reproduction of photographs on silk was an idea that came to Pankaj’s mind a few years ago when he had mounted another photo exhibition with a Hyderabad-based NGO Dastkar Andhra. For that exhibition, Pankaj had reproduced photographs on cotton because he was curious to know “how this experimentation would work”. As the project was received well, he decided to exhibit his island photographs – something he had been longing for – using silk as a medium. “Silk seemed a good possibility because it offers great texture and lustre. I also thought that it would do justice to the sharpness and striking colours one sees in the islands,” he says.
“And the other very interesting dimension has been the response of the visitors to the materiality of the medium – first cotton fabric and now silk. We are so used to seeing photographs via certain media (paper and the computer screen, for instance) that we seem to be taking them for granted and no questions are asked. The moment this physical medium changes, there are interesting questions and experiences that emerge from the visual experience as well. I am beginning to believe that the photograph is not merely a visual, ephemeral object but one which is as much material and physical,” he adds.
Fragile eco-system
Even his novels, “The Last Wave” and “Islands in Flux – the Andaman and Nicobar Story” have weaved in several narratives to highlight the causes plaguing these islands. But, he feels, there are several issues that have been left unaddressed. “It has become clear to me that we are unable or unwilling to understand and recognise the islands for the place that they are. This is a unique, fragile and very sensitive island ecosystem but policy planning and development that is driven a lot from Delhi is ignorant of the realities here,” he says.
“There is virtually no acknowledgement of the fact, for instance, that the islands are located in Seismic zone V where big earthquakes and the occasional tsunami are part of the system. The islands are home to small and very vulnerable indigenous communities that have been living here for thousands of years and the forests are rich repositories of biological wealth with high levels of endemism,” he adds.
He emphasises, “Nothing of this counts and if, anything, it has only gotten worse in recent years if we look at projects and proposals for development here. This is a big overarching concern and challenge. By not accounting for these realities we are also increasing the vulnerability of the place and its people – both indigenous but also the more recent settler populations.”
(The exhibition can be viewed at the Art gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre till August 2)
