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Journalism of Courage
Two years ago,Jonathan Jones travelled to India for the first time. The Australian artist hired a car to take him through the route of Mahatma Gandhis Salt March to Dandi in 1930. During this trip,he realised that salt has played an important role in the histories of both India and Australia,and thus was born the body of work untitled (salt) which opens to the public on September 30 at Mumbais Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke. The exhibition,supported by the Australian Government,will continue till November 3.
An Aboriginal Australian based in Sydney,Jones explains that in his traditional country in the south-east of Australia,colonial farming practices are still being followed. This has resulted in rising salt content,and subsequent environmental degradation. In a 2010 work titled Revolution,Jones uses three sculptures created using fluorescent tube lights on frames and a series of accompanying works on paper to discuss the role salt has played in shaping the histories of India and Australia,and the role it continues to play in the contemporary context. The graphite drawings are based on detailed surveys conducted on salt crystals collected from Dandi and Dhrangadhra in Gujarat and the Murray River in Australia.
The site-specific installation consisting of bare fluorescent tubes and fittings mounted on the wall of the main hall in the gallery,for instance,speaks of both Mughal architecture and Aboriginal Australian line markings. But it is also a metaphor for community,says Jones,who has been working with lights for nearly 15 years. The lights are all individuals,but together they make one body of light. This is meant to be a metaphor for how we live were all individuals,but together we make one community.
For the third installation,however,Jones uses the blue tarpaulin stretched tightly over a frame containing lights. When switched on,these lights form patterns on the tarpaulin. The blue tarpaulin specifically was used to comment on the issue of displacement,refugees and temporary housing,one common to India and Australia. Jones recalls,On my first morning in India,I woke up and looked out of my hotel window and there was blue tarpaulin everywhere.
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