An exhibition aims at showcasing how threatened trees and demolished houses in the city strive to co-exist amidst urbanization
An exhibition of photographs by Juhi Saklani showcases the demolished houses of Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar, juxtaposed with the banyan, peepul, neem and semal trees of these areas. It is currently open at the Delhi Photo Company’s new gallery here.
The show, titled Human/Nature, focusses on the loss of Delhi’s trees as the city’s old housing colonies undergo redevelopment. It was previously on public view at the Photosphere at the India Habitat Centre (IHC) here. “In my photographs, these threatened trees and demolished houses are still trying to co-exist,” said the artist, for whom Delhi’s redevelopment means loss of a quality of life that was full of trees, birds, cleaner air, and a gentler pace of living.
“In our cities, faced with critical levels of air pollution and severe depletion of groundwater, the only smart city planning is to integrate old standing trees into our project designs. To cut trees and compensate by planting saplings elsewhere, or to transplant the trees into alien soil where they slowly die, is no solution,” she added.
There are no people in the photographs to mirror the absence of people from the planning processes and decision making, said Saklani. The ruined houses and trees glowing in evening light create a surreal effect, framed in old, broken window frames of the kind used in government housing. The exhibition will run till June 2 at Janpath’s DPC Gallery.
