For Water and Earth

Revati Sharma Singh 2026

Archaeological digs often reveal the diet of those whose lives were buried away by history. The idea of culture arose when man began domesticating grains to consume as food. This draws on the etymological relationship the word culture holds to agriculture. In broken earthenware archaeologists find residual grains nestled in the terracotta. Hunger has been the cause of migrations, famine and death – Humans have faced it since the Ice Age.

We began baking terracotta pots to contain and store grains and began weaving jute sacks to transport the staple over long distances especially over the sea.

Creating a constellation of un-baked fragile terracotta and jute sacks encrusted with grains forms the installation The circle the constellation forms depicts a lifecycle but one which is extremely precarious and easily disturbed.

As the world champions technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence and Robots – that drain our water for the energy they consume – millions go hungry every night. These are not famines created by natural disasters but rather are man-made through endless wars, inflations caused by oil shocks and sanctions that curb trade. Hunger is more prevalent than when humans settled into agricultural life.

Drawn from these inspirations Revati creates her vessels that are empty except for a few traces of grains – perhaps commenting on our empathy – which is collectively called Humanity.

Sumesh Sharma
Cochin, August, 2026