There is a kerosene jar in almost every artwork currently on show at Dubai’s 1x1 Gallery. The small angular tin jug, an ubiquitous household item across rural India, is symbolic of worldwide dependence on fuel – and the politics surrounding it.
The direct translation of kerosene from both the Hindi and Marathi languages is “soil oil”, and it is this term from which the exhibition borrows its title.
It is also rather apt, given that this body of work from emerging contemporary artist Sachin Bonde discusses the networks and movement of petrol, oil and kerosene around the world – and the deadly wars they have fuelled.
The show's title work hangs on the first wall visitors encounter upon entering the exhibition space. A battered old globe has been fitted with a kerosene lamp head at the top while a long wick emerges from its base. On the facing wall is The World – a world map etched in gold leaf onto a rusted metal sheet that bears graphs indicating global oil consumption. The two pieces are in dialogue; together, they can be seen to summarise the show.
“The fight for territory and oil has somehow dominated the theatre of the world’s animosity and war for more than a century,” says show curator Sumesh Sharma in his introductory essay.
Bonde has been working on this collection for four years under the mentorship of Sharma, who is a co-founder of Clark House Initiative, an Indian artistic and curatorial collaborative platform, and Zasha Colah, a Clark House curator. Although first impressions point at a seasoned artist, this is in fact Bonde’s first solo show.
The artist is a member of Clark House and the show was first displayed in their Mumbai space last month.
However, in the 500 square metres of 1x1’s Alserkal Avenue warehouse gallery, the show takes on a new life.
“This is the exhibition’s second iteration but the work changes with every new space and this is on a much bigger scale,” says Malini Gulrajani, 1x1’s director.
Certainly the showpiece in this space is 196 Burning Boundaries – a 60-foot, site-specific installation where Bonde has stencilled outlines of 196 countries of the world on the wall with charcoal and interspersed them with empty and broken pieces of kerosene lamps.
Also present are several arresting images of animals. Elephants appear in the form of etchings and charcoal drawings; a rhinoceros drawn over a map has been framed behind a shelf bearing a model of a treasured horn; a Perspex cut-out of a camel hangs from the ceiling – its shadow cast on the wall overlaying that of a shadow of the map of Iraq.
In the centre of it all, a blackened cockerel lords over the world, with his oil-soaked claws grasping a globe.
Multilayered and fascinating, the exhibition requires visitors to spend time contemplating and closely inspecting the delicate works to fully grasp all of the artist’s conceptual threads.
Visually, the show can be appreciated immediately. Industrial materials – heavy metals, dark wood and black charcoal – reverberate throughout with the constantly recurring kerosene cans strongly complementing the intricate etchings and drawings.
The prices are also worth mentioning – artworks cost between Dh3,000 and Dh30,000, offering visitors the chance to own stunning creations by an extremely promising artist. Whether you are considering starting a collection or are interested in the several historical, political and geographical themes intertwined within the exhibition, Soil Oil is a show worth checking out.
• Soil Oil runs until June 30, 1x1 Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
aseaman@thenational.ae
