Photographs of Washermen and their labour
Pintu Das's photographs, as a student from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, narrate the artist’s family occupation. He gives insights into the settlement of families of washermen through photographic projections, videos, impressions, and found and sculpted objects.
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
Pintu's insights into settlement of families of washer men..
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
are through photographic projections of hanging laundry.
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
The temperament of the presentation..
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
..and sheer texture of the portrayal of things,
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
sites and people convey...
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
...a sense of hierarchy and history.
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
Washermen twist-dry wet fabrics...
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
..while stacks of clean folded laundry sit in storehouses,
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
empty vats still hold a presence of the work activity...
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
and hands work hard to iron and press patterned shirts.
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
Using the iron and hands of the worker without his full presence focusses on the labour held within the photograph..
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
..showing the worker place the iron in the sand to clean it..
Photographic projection by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
..and shaking off the sand to restart the process.
An object of ethnographic interest by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
Highlighting the found objects of the irons..
Indelible by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
..and showing the impressions of the iron on wood.
Video II by Pintu DasKochi-Muziris Biennale
The Students’ Biennale seeks to complement and strengthen the fine arts education system in India and is the largest educational initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation. The fourth edition was led by a team of five artists and art educators – Adip Dutta, Archana Hande, Manoj Vyloor, Suresh K Nair and Vasudha Thozhur, and featured 314 student artists from over 62 education institutions across India to produce approximately 45 projects.
Compiled and Edited by Mala Yamey
https://experimenter.in/artists/33-adip-dutta/biography/
