Wild Science

Sreshta Premnath 'Freedom of the Seas, from 'Black Box' Gallery Ske, Bangalore

One of the things I am doing here in Bangalore is touring around the science institutions of the city with a small but enthusiastic group of Srishti undergraduates, whose active brief is to break down the distance between the two cultures. They started at the prestigious research establishment, the National Centre for Biological Sciences where they attended lectures on synthetic biology and interrogated scientists studying population movements of tigers. They then went on to the Bangalore Science, Technology and Industry Museum view the Indian Space Research Organisation's public information films about the Indian Space programme (they will work on ideas for improving it) They then went on to look at Sreshta Premnath's show (above) which, apart from some startling flickr appropriation included some indigenous plants growing, all patented by US corporations. This was among other things a good introduction to the theories and polemic of Vandana Shiva. There was also a startling soundwork about the moon as a phantom limb, juxtaposed with a text on self-amputation. On this subject, more soon from Bangalore about the Moon Vehicle project, a wide ranging 'vehicle for ideas' about India's moon launch Chandraayan 1 and SymbioticA's first Indian Biotech art workshop and masterclass. Also check out CEMA, the new experimental media lab here at Srishti.
Rob La Frenais, Curator

The Wild Science group at NCBS