Born out of a twin concern, that of belonging and abandonment, DISCORD is a project rooted in artist Samar S. Jodha’s two-decade work in China, Africa South Asia and the Middle East. A journey that has often brought him face to face with people and processes relegated to the outer edges.
The canvas for Jodha’s work is a cast concrete wall that spans large proportions; yet encompasses delicate stories of people whose hands help realize a society’s ambitions. The juxtaposition of visuals enables them to transcend their literal specificity, and create metaphors about lesser-noticed facets of human migration. These are stories about common longings, occasional fulfillment and the many disappointments that mark movement of humanity within and beyond borders today.
Technical Details:Size: Each work has been printed on cast concrete wall 51″x57″(129 cm x 145 cm)-300 kgs. There are 7 walls built upon a platform 4’x 35’(1.21 Meters x 10.66 Meters).
Samar S. Jodha’s work over the past twenty years has been seen in galleries and museums in India as well as in Barcelona, Boston, Frankfurt, London, New York, Queensland and Washington. He is an artist who has often used photography and film to focus on marginalized issues and communities. His eight-year long project on ageing in India remains the single biggest social communication project in terms of outputs and outreach as listed by Limca Book of Indian Records. Extract of it were showcased at Whitechapel Gallery (London) and Fotomuseum (Zurich) in 2010.
His five-year work on the making of world’s tallest habitat was featured on Discovery, National Geographic as well as exhibited at New York’s Skyscraper Museum. His project about television has been showcased worldwide and described by The New York Times as “A beautiful series of photographs (that) documents the now-pervasive presence of television in Indian life.”
Phaneng – his award winning portraiture project about the disappearing Tai Phake tribe in India’s northeast was seen at Religare Art, New Delhi in 2008 and Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. in 2010. He continues to work closely with this endangered community.
Parallel to his art projects and editorial work, Samar has worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BBC World Service Trust and the United Nations. Samar is a regular speaker on TEDx.
Media Links: www.dis-cord.netSkyscraper Museum, New York
Bose Pacia Gallery, New York
NCPA, Mumbai
Nehru Centre, London
Whitechapel Gallery, London
Fotomuseum Winterhur, Zurich
Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt
Die Kommunale Galerie, Frankfurt
New Zealand International Art Festival
Bundaberg Arts Centre, Queensland
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
IVAM Museum Valencia, Spain
Arts.i Religare New Delhi
Newark Museum, Newark, NJ