Rice Water
As part of Grained at Blak Dot Gallery.

Mud and Wheat Paste on Paper
Rice Water is an
experimental video and
performance work.

The work refers to the severe water crisis in Punjab caused by rice cultivation, where millions of litres of water are consumed annually for rice farming, leading to rapidly depleting groundwater.

A video - on loop - depicts the artist washing rice, a rhythmic, ancestral tradition. The artist is seen drinking the rice water, a
subtle nod her own role in this historical narrative, and embodying themes of consumption. Alongside the video is a ‘mud print' of her Nani Ma’s rice farm in Punjab, where for generations her family has survived solely through agriculture. The property, is a reminder of when wheat and rice were a personal means of survival and nourishment, yet now may be a leading cause of drought and erasure.

Inspired by traditional folk/mud art from the province of Punjab soil becomes a medium and mode of exploration, challenging western archival conventions of permanence and sterility.

These prints sit at the intersection of personal narrative and broader cultural histories, asking: how can we
create archives that honour multiplicity, movement, and embodied ways of knowing?

Installation view: Documented by Lewis Catalano