Art shows addressing the themes of climate change, nature and sustainability from the hallowed confines of their white cube settings are common these days. Thankfully, in an effort to take the message beyond the four walls of the museum, sā Ladakh opts for a refreshingly different approach. Recently inaugurated at the astounding altitude of 3,600 metres in the Disko Valley landscape near Leh, this immersive exhibition (the sā in its title means ‘soil’ in Ladakhi dialect) promises to let visitors connect with nature and nudge them to reflect on the global environmental challenges.
Over 22 international and Indian artists are showcasing their climate-driven work in what has been billed as ‘Asia’s highest altitude land art exhibition’. Interestingly, among the participants are several young Ladakhi-origin artists whose art is influenced by climate change. Deeply concerned about the fragility of their mountainous surroundings, local artists like Jigmet Angmo, Tundup Gyatso, Skarma Sonam Tashi, Tsering Gurmet Kungyam, Arunima Dazess Wangchuk, Anayat Ali, Tsering Motup and Tundup Dorjay Churpon are known for working with discarded, renewable, natural or recycled materials.
Also read: A deep dive into the vernacular architecture of Ladakh that honours intergenerational memories
Sustainable Craftsmanship
Worried about the plastic menace in a bustling tourist attraction like Ladakh, which offers scenic views of the Karakoram range adjoining the Himalayas, the Leh-based artist and architect Tundup Gyatso’s Kicker of Plastics — conjured out of plastic bottle waste, earth and wood — is intended as a commentary on the environmental impact of tourism. Popular as a mountain biking destination, Disko Valley is the ideal venue for Gyatso’s biking-inspired creativity, says Raki Nikahetiya, co-curator and co-founder of sā Ladakh. “Gyatso uses his installation as a metaphor to confront plastic pollution and urges us to reconsider our consumption habits,” Nikahetiya adds. Another artist hailing from Leh, Skarma Sonam Tashi, has repurposed old notebooks, cardboard and clay to highlight the significance of glaciers to hillside villages where water is scarce. Similarly, Anayat Ali’s Sacred Place examines the constantly changing and vulnerable ecology of Ladakh, particularly affected in recent years by the carbon footprints of the burgeoning tourism industry and infrastructure projects that exploit the region’s natural resources.
