Relics of Kishkinda

Hampi, located within the ruins of the Vijaynagara Empire is said to have once been the mythical land of Kishkinda. The story of the brothers, Vali and Sugreev who ruled Kishkinda has been set in JSW steel factory to emphasize on theme of power (political or financial) and the relationship shared between the rulers and the kingdom itself. These events are mentioned in the Ramayana, and have been orally passed down from generation to generation and thus might have been moulded on various occasions by different storytellers’ to suit their audiences. Looking at how history repeats itself, it was discussed upon that perhaps Vali and Sugreev still exist, in form of their qualities, and that they inhabit places that exude power, something akin to what they once wielded. Medallions have been crafted on circular discs of scrap steel collected from JSW steel factory based on this story with a few variations.

I worked on Relics of Kishkinda with Natasha Ranganath. This project was done for SILVERTOWN course which was facilitated by Allan Parker and Chinar Shah.
SILVERTOWN Catalogue : http://issuu.com/purelanddesign/docs/silvertown_catalogue_issuu.4_3ee54c643f7bdd/11?e=1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photographs were developed on scrap metal discs using liquid emulsion method.  14 medallions were crafted to weave the story of Vaali and Sugreev with few variations to highlight the fact that these stories are oral traditions and can be manipulated or retold differently by different people.