3. Transmission Residency group discussions

One of the most valuable aspects of the Transmission talks was the collaborative discussions we had with our peers. We were divided into groups of five, and at first, none of us were familiar with each other’s practices.

Yet, we had to collaborate and develop a shared outcome for the final show.Our discussions began with something simple and relatable, transport systems in London and Canada. We talked about our personal relationships with these systems, how we had grown around them, and how they physically and emotionally connected our two locations, despite the geographical distance.

As we continued these weekly conversations, we began sketching ideas and noticed how subway and underground maps resembled the branching flows of river channels. This observation led us into a deeper conversation about underground rivers; how these waterways, once vital transport routes for people, animals, and plant life, had now been replaced or built over by modern railway lines.Through further research, we discovered that places like Kensington Gardens once had underground rivers running beneath them, which are now replaced by parts of the London Tube.

I found this particularly fascinating, especially because I was regularly travelling on the Tube myself. I often documented the scenes I witnessed; reflections of urbanisation, the rush and noise of the crowd, and yet, paradoxically, a strange sense of silence, emptiness, and loneliness amidst it all.

While I was back in India, I also documented the railway transport system of Mumbai, one of the busiest cities in India. The trains were packed with people, far less structured or “sophisticated” than London’s, but they felt completely different. There was a certain rawness and human energy to them that lingered with me.

Around this time, I was also reading 'Ways of Curating' by Hans Ulrich Obrist, and was struck by his project : 'Cities on the Move (1997–2000)', co-curated with Hou Hanru. It was exhibited in multiple cities: Vienna, Bordeaux, New York, Bangkok, and brought together artists, architects, designers, and theorists to explore how migration, infrastructure, and visual culture were transforming urban life, particularly in Asia. What fascinated me was the open-ended format of the exhibition, it adapted to each location, not only in content but in meaning. It challenged dominant Western perspectives on urban development and highlighted how rapidly developing Eastern cities were reshaping those narratives.This project deeply influenced the direction of my work.

For our group show, I created a video projection that layered audio of flowing rivers with recordings from the Indian railways and London Underground. I had also planned to recreate a similar sound and video installation for our exhibition at Stackt Market in Toronto, especially because a new underground line was being constructed directly beneath the exhibition space, but wasn’t possible due to certain restrictions. This project to me was a way to express this sense of movement, history, and transformation, how cities evolve, how we travel through them, and how they shape our inner worlds.