Untitled 211

  Tea, Graphite and Watercolor On Paper

Most of us growing up have heard about how more than half the species currently occupying earth will go extinct by 2100. The current epoch popularly termed Anthropocene, in many ways articulates the negative human impact on earth’s ecology. It problematizes the issues of land use, human encroachment, excessive dependency on fossil fuels, and so on within the larger context of negative human impact. Artists have been responding to these challenges through various research-based practices, where the said research becomes the artwork in many cases. Manisha Agrawal’s works in this regard take a different route. Her extensive research takes the form of intricately rendered details of the negative human impact on the fauna around us. The visuals take centre stage in her work. The tiger inside a jar, triggers a sense of urgency with which conservation and preservation strategies need to be adapted as well as adopted. With the portrayal of familiar objects, within indisputable situations, Agrawal's works take the form of an instrument of ecological awareness.