Art to conserve water

BANGALORE: Every year, March 22 is observed as World Water Day to remind every human being of their responsibilities to protect, save and conserve this precious natural resource. To recognise the importance and to commemorate World Water Day, an exhibition titled Water — The thread of Life was inaugurated by Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of Arghyam, a public charitable foundation that has been working in the domestic water and sanitation sector since 2005.“I believe in using art to spread awareness on issues like conservation of water. We need to redefine the value of water today. Art has a tendency to put the message across in a powerful manner. Let’s hope this exhibition instills a sense of urgency towards addressing this issue,” said Rohini Nilekani. Using innovative techniques to establish the importance of conserving water, this exhibition is a special curated show with seven contemporary Indian visual artists reacting to socio-political issue of water, its relevance and the risk inherent within the inevitability of nurturing cultivated water. Artists who showcased their works included Dr Alphonso Arul Doss, Asma Menon, JMS Mani, Rekha Rao, S Jayaraj, Jayakumar G and Shailesh BO. They connected water to gender issues, separated the problems of water between urban and rural situation, made a visual-story of the inevitability of water issues, among other aspects. Said artist Rekha Rao, “‘Save every drop’ needs to be our motto today. Each and every art work displayed here highlights the issues we face with respect to water everyday.” Echoing similar sentiments, Shailesh B O, another artist, said that it is important for each and every individual to understand the necessity for a change in our lifestyle to conserve water. “Water is essential for life. I think it is important for us to spread awareness on limited usage of water and recycling in the right way,” said the artist.The exhibition will be open for public display at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat. It will be on until March 31.