Ruin As Archive

Vivan Sundaram explores debris and decay to trace the passage of time, says Mario D’Souza.

Artefacts and other historical material help question usable pasts – what is significant and may be included in the narrative of history. In 2007, an archaeological team investigated the areas in and around Pattanam, Kerala, and unearthed evidence of Muziris, an ancient harbour, seaport and urban centre on the Malabar Coast. The diverse objects established Muziris’ erstwhile relationship with the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean rims. Central to this port city that famously exported pepper to the Roman Empire was the Periyar river, the lifeline of this trade. Periyar is also suspected to have destroyed Muziris in the 1300s due to devastating floods.

Amongst the thousands of objects unearthed by the archaeological team were potshards – pieces of terracotta – several of which were discarded by the excavating agency. Vivan Sundaram collected these fragments and brought them to his studio in Delhi. The body of work that forms Install: black gold, terraoptics and the work of termites at PHOTOINK, New Delhi, from the 13th of April to the 29th of June, grows from this excavated, rejected and salvaged material. The show employs acts of archiving and assimilation to generate various modes of viewing.