A 40-FOOT MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATION BY SAMAR SINGH JODHA
The Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 remains the world’s biggest industrial disaster. The leakage of 42 tons of lethal methyl isocyanate by the Union Carbide plant on the night of 2nd December and early morning of 3rd, exposed 528,125 people, immediately killing 2,259. More than 25,000 have since died from the after-effects of that exposure.
The photographs in this forty-foot multimedia installation have been shot at the now sealed Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal (India) that continues to poison the soil, air and water of its surrounding areas. The images portray an eerie emptiness – comparable to the Nazi gas chambers of Auschwitz. However, unlike Auschwitz, the perpetrators of this crime continue to walk free. The victims – largely poor people, continue to be denied fair compensation, adequate health care or legal redressal. Worse, they are forced behind a veil of indifference and enforced silence. This installation also hints at this state of affairs with a shroud bearing names and file numbers of some of the victims’ that envelops them in anonymity.
Samar S. Jodha has been using his art for advocacy for over twenty years, addressing various development, human rights and conservation issues.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL-LONDON 2012 I INDIA ART SUMMIT 2011 I www.bhopalasilentpicture.com
A striking document which will contribute to perpetuate the memory of an apocalyptic event. - Dominique Lapierre
In 2011 this art installation has traveled to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Over 85,000 people visited this project in Mumbai in a week alone, making it the largest ever-viewed public art project in India.
The Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 remains the world’s biggest industrial disaster. The leakage of 42 tons of lethal methyl isocyanate by the Union Carbide plant on the night of 2nd December and early morning of 3rd, exposed 528,125 people, immediately killing 2,259. More than 25,000 have since died from the after-effects of that exposure.
The photographs in this forty-foot multimedia installation have been shot at the now sealed Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal (India) that continues to poison the soil, air and water of its surrounding areas. The images portray an eerie emptiness – comparable to the Nazi gas chambers of Auschwitz. However, unlike Auschwitz, the perpetrators of this crime continue to walk free. The victims – largely poor people, continue to be denied fair compensation, adequate health care or legal redressal. Worse, they are forced behind a veil of indifference and enforced silence. This installation also hints at this state of affairs with a shroud bearing names and file numbers of some of the victims’ that envelops them in anonymity.
Samar S. Jodha has been using his art for advocacy for over twenty years, addressing various development, human rights and conservation issues.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL-LONDON 2012 I INDIA ART SUMMIT 2011 I www.bhopalasilentpicture.com
A striking document which will contribute to perpetuate the memory of an apocalyptic event. - Dominique Lapierre
In 2011 this art installation has traveled to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Over 85,000 people visited this project in Mumbai in a week alone, making it the largest ever-viewed public art project in India.