Mansi Shah / Vishal Mehta
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Mansi Shah is an architect ‐ urban designer. She is based in Ahmedabad and is currently teaching in CEPT University in the Faculty of Planning and Urban Design. Her work is particularly driven towards raising awareness on environmental issues and importance of biodiversity in cities and she disseminates it through her initiatives such as Ahmedabad Mapping Project, City water walks, Pocket Garden and through the art works. She is inspired by the works of traditional Gond and Madhubani artists and has been fervently painting to adapt the technique and create contemporary works. Her co-project ‘Feral City’ was a part of the exhibition ‘Tales and Fables from India and Japan’ and was recently displayed in NID- Ahmedabad, Japan Foundation- New Delhi and in Yokohama Civic Art Gallery in Japan.
Vishal Mehta is a system designer – policy analyst with focus in urban systems and is currently working and teaching in CEPT University, Ahmedabad. He is also a travel and documentary photographer and has been documenting the dynamics of life, space, and landscapes across India. Apart from this, he also has been photographing graffiti to explore the various facets of urban life and stories. His work a ‘A Memoir’ was part of the Delhi photo festival in 2013 and co-project ‘Feral city’ was displayed at NID, Japan Foundation and Yokohama Civic Art Gallery in 2015. |
City is a potent evidence of human conquest and domestication of vast landscapes and natural ecosystems. Development has always been anthropocentric driven where humans have continued to tame, fragment, disintegrate nature, sometimes to enhance productivity, to increase food supplies, or to reduce exposure to pests and predators, or to make more room for human habitat. But while doing so, we have made many unforeseen changes that pose relentless threat to our natural environment and in turn to us.
In the last couple of years, the question of sustainability has suddenly become urgent. We are confronted with less production, more air pollution, water and soil pollution, become vulnerable to diseases, have seen beautiful wildlife disappear, and we are increasingly jeopardised by not understanding the nature of being. The recovery starts when one understands compassion, the value in coexistence with nature and where freedom begins by absence of control over it. Sustainability, therefore to us, lies in the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life forms- humans, flora and fauna and all that exists on earth; and one must protect and celebrate the diversity, complexity and function of the ecological life support system.
Through our work we are sharing how the fragile fellows of our city are doing, while some are becoming extinct and leaving the city, some are proliferating and adapting. While we embrace the idea of bringing the wild back to the city; these images showcase and question, can nature thrive again and contribute to our daily existence? Can we respect all forms of life and value their interdependence?
In the last couple of years, the question of sustainability has suddenly become urgent. We are confronted with less production, more air pollution, water and soil pollution, become vulnerable to diseases, have seen beautiful wildlife disappear, and we are increasingly jeopardised by not understanding the nature of being. The recovery starts when one understands compassion, the value in coexistence with nature and where freedom begins by absence of control over it. Sustainability, therefore to us, lies in the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life forms- humans, flora and fauna and all that exists on earth; and one must protect and celebrate the diversity, complexity and function of the ecological life support system.
Through our work we are sharing how the fragile fellows of our city are doing, while some are becoming extinct and leaving the city, some are proliferating and adapting. While we embrace the idea of bringing the wild back to the city; these images showcase and question, can nature thrive again and contribute to our daily existence? Can we respect all forms of life and value their interdependence?
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The work combines two mediums of visual representation- photography and painting. The photograph depicts the context/setting of the story and the painting emphasises the dominant subject and our perception of the problem in a very quirky way. The art is done in traditional Gond technique of painting.
Each work intends to depict the conflicts in the city. For instance, the conflict between monkeys and humans has been persistent and long. The reason is, humans have been cutting down trees, fragmenting their habitat and are moving into their territory. The places where they were once found are now empty while they venture further to find food and shelter in order to survive. They are very intelligent and are highly adaptable to the changes in the environment and now find home in cities. |
City of the Rats | Acrylic on photograph | 120mm film
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC1 |
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Marauding Monkeys | Acrylic on photograph | 120 mm film
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC2 |
Raccoons on the Loose | Acrylic on photograph | 35 mm film
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC3 |
Another example is of Raccoons who are curious, fiendishly persistent wild animals. Often labelled as pond-raiders, dumpster-divers and garden-destroyers, raccoons have a bad reputation for making a mess in pursuit of the perfect meal. In the face of changing landscapes and urbanisation, these are the most adaptable species and they too are finding places to survive in urban cities and homes.
We believe this project will give voice to the countless issues that our cities are facing, raise awareness about biodiversity and also open up new ways to look at our cities as functioning ecosystems, where all life matters.
We believe this project will give voice to the countless issues that our cities are facing, raise awareness about biodiversity and also open up new ways to look at our cities as functioning ecosystems, where all life matters.
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Wait at Railway Station | Acrylic on photograph | 35mm film
27 x 42 cm | Editions 2,3,4,5 of 5 | Ref: RV/FC4 |
Urban Cows | Acrylic on photograph | 35mm digital
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC5 |
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Feral Cats | Acrylic on photograph | 35mm digital
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC6 |
Vultures: the despised cleaners of the environment | Acrylic on photograph
27 x 42 cm | 35mm digital | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC7 |
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Vanishing Bees | Ink on photograph | 35mm digital
28 x 28 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC10 |
Jungle Babblers | Ink on photograph | 35mm digitial
28 x 28 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC8 |
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Waist Line | Ink on photograph | 35mm digital
28 x 28 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC9 |
Concrete Waves and the resident onlookers | Ink on photograph
35mm digital | 28 x 28 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC13 |
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Camouflage | Ink on photograph | 35mm film
28 x 28 cm | Editions 2,3,4,5 of 5 | Ref: RV/FC11 |
A Primal Scream | Ink on photograph | 35mm film
28 x 28 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC12 |
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Apparition in the woods | Ink on photograph | 35mm film
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC17 |
Landfill Scavangers | Ink on photograph | 35mm film
27 x 42 cm | Editions 2,3,4,5 of 5 | Ref: RV/FC16 |
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Digesting Waste | Ink on photograph | 35mm film
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/RC14 |
Fragmented Landscapes | Ink on photograph | 35mm film
27 x 42 cm | Edition of 5 | Ref: RV/FC15 |