Land carries deep cultural and emotional significance, anchoring identity, heritage and community ties. In many indigenous and pre-capitalist societies, land was collectively held, embedded in systems of reciprocity and stewardship. With colonisation, industrialisation and capitalist expansion, it has shifted from being a shared sustainer to becoming an asset of ownership, control and speculation. In step with this trend in history is the resurgence of divisive forces across the world today, including in South Asia. Nationalist and majoritarian politics have amplified religious, ethnic and caste identities, and digital media and populist rhetoric have further polarised communities, eroding trust and solidarity. How does an artist, indeed art, respond to the crisis of a weakening collective civic life? Perhaps, as the works in this show suggest, by focusing on individualistic subjectivity and personal narrative that highlight the experience of such asymmetry.
“Debris of Fate”, 2015
Ink on debris, cement, sand, and iron | 43 × 30 × 8 cm each (set of 3) | Variable dimensions (floor installation)
In Debris of Fate (2015), Birender Yadav reassembles construction waste into mosaic-like forms marked with tools of labour. What appears decorative gradually reveals embedded violence, exposing how the built environment carries traces of extraction, oppression, and erasure. Material residue becomes evidence, allowing debris to speak of unequal power and unseen labour.
Press :
“Zameen by Birla Academy of Art and Culture” | Platform | 19th Jan, 2026