Fight of Steel

Jatin Das says that his site-specific installation was removed from its location and dumped in a zoo.

Murga Chowk in Bhilai,till about a month back,had a landmark structure that gave it its name. It was a 30 ft steel installation,depicting a rooster,and called Flight of Steel. It was created by Delhi-based artist Jatin Das and commissioned by Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in 1996. The site-specific installation,however,has been removed and Das says that he found it dumped in Maitri Garden zoo a few weeks ago.

Shocked,surprised and saddened by such treatment of his work,Das has circulated a petition in the art and media circuits. The artist says that he had been told by a guard that the work had been taken away. Das claims to have found pieces of the sculpture in different locations at Maitri Garden zoo. I was informed by local people that the sculpture had been painted in many colours some years ago. All this happened without my knowledge, said the artist in a statement.

Das adds that his repeated attempts to correspond with BSP officials have been in vain. I was visiting Bhilai after 16 years. There had been no communication after I made the work. Im not saying that theyve done it intentionally but there is a certain indifference and ignorance, says Das,whose copyright disallows owners to disfigure or destroy his works.

BSP authorities say that the work was removed as part of an expansion project. The sculpture,according to them,was carefully removed to facilitate movement of goods and people. One of the flyovers being constructed in the township is passing over the intersection which housed the artifacts, says SPS Jaggi,DGM,PR,BSP,in an email. He assures that the sculpture will be suitably installed in a prominent place subsequently. On April 11,Dass lawyer Praveen Anand obtained an injunction from Delhi High Court,preventing BSP from causing further loss,damage,mutilation and modification to the structure.

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