SHADOW LANDS : Visual narratives of Coal Miners

Ranjeet Singh | Photographic prints and paintings 

Curatorial Advisor- Azra Bhagat
Essay- Prerna SM Jain

Program Performers: Mudra, Karishma D’lima & Smruti Chauhan

Film Screening Courtesy: Mouth of Hell

Ranjeet Singh uses photography and painting as interconnected mediums with equal intensity, providing an empathetic view of human travails that is raw and universal. As witnessed by him, the superimposed layering of objects and humans against a landscape is often punctuated by an eerie, surreal atmosphere. The dusty and drab backgrounds of the coal mines echo a sense of suffocation as well as isolation – yet there is a notion of resilience in the figures, and an underlying poetry in the compositions. The figures may seem anonymous to the viewer, but Singh uses expressive devices that transform the space into one engendering more intimate connections with the subjects.

Documenting Jharia, in the state of Jharkhand, Singh has a personal investment in the life of the individuals that he photographs and paints, as many of them have been integral to his childhood experiences and part of the environment he grew up in. His brutally honest portrayal of the labourers is handled with consideration and dignity, and is directed to serve as a form of silent protest. In order to make his work purposeful and understandable by the subjects whom he chooses to record, Singh has developed a figurative style that is visually readable, and yet can be interpreted variedly by audiences.

Ranjeet Singh’s poignant and compelling visual language addresses the challenges of our times. This compilation of works succeeds in evoking a recognition of the dignity of labour, and a shared understanding of the struggles of workers from many tribal areas in the country. The images urge the audience to register and reexamine the pressures of unfair social hierarchies, and the cavernous blackhole of greed that can consume the earth, and metaphorically, so much else from human lives.

India is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. The country relies on almost 300 coal-fired plants and plans to build 48 more by the end of the decade. The sub-continental peninsula contains enormous coal reserves, nearly a tenth of the world’s total, and produces around 85 crore tons of coal a year. According to a government panel’s projections, the country’s demand for coal is expected to reach about 140 crore tons by 2035.[1]