TERRAOPTICS (2016)
TERRAOPTICS is a sequel to an installation by the artist Vivan Sundaram comprising a hundred thousand potsherds from excavations at Pattanam, of the lost antique port of Muziris on the southwest coast of India that played an important role in world trade two thousand years ago. For TERRAOPTICS, he arranged the same shards in the dark room to create small sets using luminous fiber optics, each forming its own universe. It evokes the image of a prehistoric landscape, intersected by burning rivers. By using the archaeological remnants, Sundaram draws attention to the earth, which we take for granted. By illuminating the land literally and figuratively, TERRAOPTICS creates a terrestrial-optic awareness.
Courtesy of sepiaEYE, New York, United States
