Fight of steel

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

Till a month ago,Murga Chowk in Bhilai had a landmark structure that gave it its name. It was a steel installation of 30 feet,depicting a rooster,and was formally called Flight of Steel which was created by eminent Delhi-based artist Jatin Das and commissioned by Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) authorities 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 this 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 bits and pieces of the sculpture in different locations in Maitri Garden zoo. I was also 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 of his works to disfigure or destroy this works.

BSP authorities say that the work was removed as part of an expansion project. The sculpture,they say,was carefully removed to facilitate movement of goods and people. One of the flyovers being built 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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Jatin Das

Fight of steel

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

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