The Witness, Detail

The reverse painted triptych, The Witness, is a metaphor for the sequence of events in the world's recent history, which are now culminating in turmoil, leading to contentious borders, sectarian conflict and pogroms. In a cosmic space, two floating orbs teeming with life dominate the triptych. On the left, the female protagonist - Cassandra, the embodiment of female premonition and thought, is holding an orb. With her magic wand, she shows us a landscape of life and words stating: ‘I love maps because they lie’. With the eagle (nature) hovering overhead, Cassandra witnesses the plot that is brewing on the right side of the painting. Hiding behind the second orb, two rapacious, Machiavellian characters are plotting their next move to find ways and means to exploit the land. The golden yellow rays of light, representing the ideology of Modernism, do not reach the orbs anymore. The dog is a stray, an outsider, a pariah, who is forbidden to enter the precincts of the so-called civilized city. The marching worker protests for his rights, holding a speech bubble in his hand, claiming his rights on a part of the city. He seems to have lost direction and walks out of the painting, having no agency anymore in this day and age.

The quote from Map by Polish female poet Wislawa Szymborska, traverses the landscape of the painting, sums it up, succinctly and poetically.

The work was featured as part of the exhibition 'The Witness' by Nalini Malani. The exhibition was curated by Tasneem Zakaria Mehta and Johan Pijnappel. In this exhibition, Nalini Malani explored concepts and concerns that have preoccupied her for decades - notions of oppression and dominance, of freedom and justice.