Prague-matic Pieces

Exploring the rice grain as a metaphor, artist couple Jitish Kallat and Reena Saini will undertake their first collaborative venture in the ...

Exploring the rice grain as a metaphor, artist couple Jitish Kallat and Reena Saini will undertake their first collaborative venture in the Czech capital of Prague this June. Why the rice grain, one may ask. ‘‘It is used to

inscribe the name of gods. Generally, it evokes a sense of reverence or an offering. Outside the temple, it takes on a darker hue. It becomes a symbol of drought, poverty, famine and lack of government initiative,’’ says Kallat.

The work itself will consist of patterns of grains on the floor. The designs may appear arbitrary at first but close scrutiny will reveal that they are in the shape of question marks that also resemble the sickle, a implement of the farmer who is their inferred protagonist. Text inscribed on the rice will be placed inside a hollowed-out cast of a rotating desi hand-grinder. ‘‘A small hole with a magnifying glass fixed to it will enable people to read the text. There will also be three translites on the wall of a rice grain morphing into a coffin and back,’’ says Kallat.

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This work will go on display at the Art Biennial held at the National Gallery in June, the artists are excited about their upcoming show, since it is their first trip to Prague. It all came about when Gian Carlow Politi, the editor of Flash Art, an Italian magazine, nominated Delhi-based curator Peter Nagy of Gallery Nature Morte fame, as the co-curator for the show. ‘‘Peter approached Reena and me. Since we’d been planning a joint project for a while, things just fell into place,’’ says Kallat.

Hopefully, the Biennial, a key art event in Eastern Europe, will make American and Western

Europe-centric art lovers sit up and take notice. ‘‘I hope it will not be confined to the gallery but will spill on to places like cafes and railway stations,’’ says the artist.