TRADE (2013) is a site-specific installation consisting of seven ‘islands of spice’. The title of the work relates to the spice trades of the East India Company during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The ‘seven islands’ created from spices refers to the seven islands of Bombay (my place of birth), prior to land reclamation. One could argue that claiming of land was central to the building of the ‘Empire’. Today the legacy of trade exposes continued opportunities for exploitation and power.
As the viewer moves through the installation, their olfactory and visual senses are heightened, enabling the recollection of their personal memories and encounters in the context of their own histories and geographies.
Coinciding with the installation will be a one-day relational event, Eat! My Son. This event will inlude the preparation and serving of a ubiquitous Anglo- Indian meal made with my mum. To partake in a shared meal resonates deeply in both Eastern and Western cultures. The title is drawn from a phrase my mum has always used. For her, the making and sharing of food is intrinsically linked to love. When she says, ‘Eat! My Son’, it is a sign of devotion and unconditional love. The exclamation to, ‘Eat’ is a call that all should be right, just and equal in the world. For my mum, ‘my son’ goes beyond our close familial bond. It is a loud, inclusive exhalation for everyone to participate. Perhaps in this act of participation and sharing the weight of colonial history can be set aside momentarily as we join together in celebration.
Trade (2013) installation view, details, installing documentation), [spices, wooden platform; dimensions variable], for the 2013 Castlemaine State Festival, Visual Arts Biennial – Periscope, Hunt & Lobb Building, Castlemaine, Victoria. Image courtesy of Julie Millowick.
