Reimagining The Wasteland

In 1922, T. S. Eliot’s  The Waste Land  captured the disillusionment of a post-World War I world, filled with uncertainty and fragmentation. A century later, the poem’s themes of desolation and instability still echo in our modern experience. Curated by Jesal Thacker, an exhibition reimagines the poem through the lens of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether—alongside their corresponding sensory perceptions. Drawing from ancient Samkhya yoga and Buddhist tanmatras, the exhibition explores the interplay between the subtle (senses) and the gross (elements), inviting viewers to engage with the poem’s depth through sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. Artworks by Atul Bhalla, K Benitha Perciyal, Ishita Chakraborty, Raqs Media Collective, and Ratna Gupta embody this connection between the elemental and sensory worlds. Through materials like Yamuna river sand, fossilized objects, and stitched sheets of paper, the artists reconfigure nature’s most basic forms, offering a profound experience of what is disappearing in the modern world. Each artist focuses on one of the five elements, allowing the visitor to reconnect with nature’s subtleties and the layers of meaning within Eliot’s iconic work. Reimagining The Wasteland invites a fresh, sensory exploration of The Waste Land, making its themes both timeless and immediate.

For additional details about the artists and the exhibition, click Download Catalogue