Stretched light and muted howls
Stretched light and muted howls, Acrylic and Serigraphs on natural rubber sheet, 70 x 42 inches, 2023
Museums in Germany, such as the Ethnological Museum in Berlin, University of Tübingen or the State Library in Dresden, house vast collections from colonial contexts. Among these are photographs that chronicle the lived experiences of marginalized Dalit and indigenous communities in Kerala, anthropological photographs with colonial racist gaze regimes as well as postcards, letters and palm leaf manuscripts in Malayalam, the language spoken in Kerala and which carries a complex historical connection to Germany. The German missionary and linguist Hermann Gundert (Hermann Hesse’s grandfather) standardised Malayalam and published several books in Malayalam at the end of the 19th century, including the first dictionary. Conversion to Christianity enabled Dalits, who were strictly forbidden to read and write, to leave repressive social caste hierarchies and economic marginalisation. Nevertheless, also Gundert’s work took place in a colonial context. Engaging with these photographs, materials, and historical narratives, Sajan Mani unfreezes time, reinstating the inherent dignity of the individuals portrayed, and anchoring ancestral memories and remnants at the core of his creative process.
He subverts the oppressive structures of colonial racist perspectives and transmutes these visual representations onto natural raw rubber sheets, a medium that bears a profound connection to his family’s legacy of labor. Hailing from a family of rubber tappers in a northern Keralan village, Sajan Mani’s artistic journey is profoundly intertwined with the significance of rubber. This material not only plays a central role in his creative work but also holds a complex historical connection to extractive colonialism. The knowledge of rubber production was plundered from indigenous communities in South America during this period. In Mesoamerican cultures, the indigenous sap held a mysterious and sacred significance, woven into spiritual practices. Today, it finds a sensorial resonance in the realm of Sajan Mani’s memory, carrying layers of history, tradition, and cultural significance that enrich his artistic expression.
