27/ Kisan Mukti March

2019
By Thukral and Tagra
Duration: 23:41 min.
Recommended by Peter Nagy and Jessica Arisohn

How does this work investigate “hope?”
Thukral and Tagra's Kisan Mukti March, 29-30 November 2018 is a film documenting the recent uprisings by the farming community in India questioning their rights, existence and daily survival in today’s world. During this march in November of 2018, close to 1.5 lakh farmers participated to voice their desperation and demand for change. Shot on a mobile phone camera, the film is composed of several enduring images, raising awareness of these important issues and giving a hopeful voice for change to the lives, trials, and tribulations of the agricultural community. 

About the work:
Part of a larger exhibition held at Nature Morte in 2019, entitled “Bread, Circuses and I,” this film is inclusive of Thukral & Tagra's larger investigation of their own personal histories and memories to address the socio-cultural changes most visible in their home state. By making the viewer confront these gaps between the urban and rural ways of living, the artists continue their pursuit in social communication and questioning the viewer's own status in the midst of a severe social crisis. The work invites the viewer to acknowledge themselves at a juncture of socio-political and cultural emergencies and to examine the ongoing struggle of the farmers, fighting the battle of survival against invisible policies and issues.