I have been engaged with the city of Delhi since last 18 years. Observing and engaging with Delhi
on a permanent day to day basis has formed much of my perception of urban spaces in India. The
layers of social structures and hierarchies one encounters in a single day in Delhi leaves
thought for the understanding of a much larger and wider notion called 'India'. The urban and
the rural, the class and caste, religion and practice and the endless list of eccentric and
idiosyncratic exchanges of different social groups somehow creates its own mystery in any urban
space in India. For us 'modernity' is a big claim, which has to be approved and contextualized
at every stage of any discourse. On the other hand an economically booming India stands with
millions of middle class on its side, which constantly erase and redraw the map of India with a
completely different set of tools and calculations. The repercussions and resonance of these new
voices has also been woven into the urban fabric with a variety of architectural and cultural
forms.
Many of these observations have been a catalyst for the making of the Elevator from the
subcontinent. It is a bit larger than a normal sized elevator cabin with an automatic door
system. When you press the button, the door opens and inside the elevator you witness three
backlit projections. Then the door closes behind you and images on all the three projections
around you create a car parking basement. Slowly the parking space moves down, giving you an
illusion of going upward in the elevator. Then it reaches the next floor, which is the interior
of a middle class household. Thus the elevator travels through different levels, each one
displaying a different living space. These living spaces can be identified as different social
stratas and hierarchies. The duration of the ride is about 10 minutes and finally one comes back
to the car parking space and the elevator door opens.
The elevator has a symbolic significance when we think about the logic in which it makes up and
down movements. Elevator is a sculptural version of a progressive logic imposed by the state on
its citizens. According to its structure, progress comes with linearity and its vertical
faade. In this work an attempt is made to break the structural logic of the space by viewing
the living spaces in horizontal layers thereby creating vast spaces of parallel existence.
In another sense the layers of vision blocked by the walls get illuminated by each spectator
while experiencing the elevator.
