TITLE – WHEN RABBIT SAW THE FALLING SKY SERIES
MEDIUM – GOUACHE ON PAPER
SIZE - 11 INCHES X 14 INCHES EACH
YEAR - 2022
IMAGE COURTESY TO KETAKI SARPOTDAR
WHEN RABBIT SAW THE FALLING SKY
In today’s digital age, we encounter misinformation on social media and the internet in abundance. This misinformation could be used to manipulate people’s minds for personal gain or due to their lack of knowledge. For instance, during the Halley’s Comet panic in 1910, when the astronomer Camille Flammarion used Spectroscopy to detect Cyanogen in the comet’s tail, Flammarion was quoted as saying, the gas could “impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet.” His theory got very little support in the scientific world, but it was published in the New York Times. The misinformation spread like wildfire, causing chaos.
The series ’When Rabbit Saw the Falling Sky’ (inspired by the tale ‘Rabbit and the Falling Sky’ found in the Panchatantra story Book ) speaks about the crowd's reaction to misinformation. It consists of 8 paintings that revolve around a fictional narrative of events taking place from dusk to dawn, based on various situations that arise in the jungle when the animals encounter a previously unknown and rare phenomenon to them.
The series deals with faith, fear, the blame game, egos, the role of authorities, etc. The various situations depicted in the series are based on my observations of my surroundings, while the characters and metaphors are taken from 8 different stories from Panchatantra and other folk tales. The first 7 images of the series depict the situations mentioned above, and the last image reveals the actual cause of the panic.
WHEN RABBIT SAW THE FALLING SKY SERIES WAS A PART OF KOCHI MUZIRIS BIENNALE COURATED BY SHUBIGI RAO , IN 2O22.
When Rabbit saw the falling sky series in audio visual format