Kalpana Pandaram
Aoa, Batt Karo/ Come, talk to me
How can we disseminate the hybrid reality of the diasporic Indian migrant's cultural identity through readymade instruments and contribute to the spatial exploration of gathering a community?
Aoa Batt Karo evokes the history of Indian indentured labourers from the descendant's position to the transcendental site of the temple. Eight of the artist's clocks are exchanged for eight loaned-out clocks from Hindu temples across Auckland. The clocks document the times of eight countries, all colonies where Indian indentured labourers worked. What transpired in Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Malaysia, Jamaica and Uganda?
Thank you to the thoughtful and accommodating pujarees from the following Hindu temples for their guidance and support of my artwork's production. Shri Shirdi SaiBaba's Mandir, Sri Sathya Sai Centre, Sri Radha Krishna Mandir, Bharatiya Mandir, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Shiva Temple, Shri Ram Mandir and Hare Krishna.
