This weekend I braved the coronation traffic and sneaked in a visit to Tate Modern. My reason for going was to see the Hilma af Klint/Piet Mondrian retrospective (more about that later), but on my way through the gallery I was pulled by curiosity into Vivan Sundaram’s installation Memorial.
“Vivan Sundaram’s installation acts as memorial, monument and tomb for an unknown victim” Tate Modern
A photograph of an unknown victim of the 1992/3 Bombay riots as published in the Times of India newspaper following the demolition of a 16th Century Muslim mosque by Hindu nationalists who claimed it was built on the birthplace of their deity Rama.
Layers of the found object, physical seperation from the actual experience of the riot, and the distance between that and reality is reflected in teh distance placed between the viewer and the image by physical interventions adn barriers.
I was particularly affected by the different uses of nails in the work. Inverted nails with their spikes pointing threateningly towards me as I approached the image reminded me of my Western inability to get close to, or fully relate with, these events and to tread carefully within the protected memories of those who had.
The nailed border around other images made me feel I was witnessing mourners at the scene, encircling the victim and forming a barrier of respect and sorrow.
This resonated with my own current project adding layers to childhood photographic memories through distortion and additional elements for the viewer to navigate. Knowing that in doing so they can never fully see the truth of the experience.
