Madhumita Nandi

TIDAL THREADS ( ONGOING)

The meaning and distinction between land and water have evolved over time as the East Kolkata Wetlands in Bengal Delta (India) have been reshaped by human activity, technological interventions, and governance frameworks. While they perform critical functions in wastewater treatment, economic sustenance, and flood defence, beneath these utilitarian roles lies a complex narrative, one where water and memory intersect, carrying the burden of contested histories and fragmented collective knowledge. Policies, both past and present, have sown seeds of forgetfulness, eroding the wetlands' place in Kolkata’s urban consciousness, paving the way for exploitation under capitalist ambitions. Yet, the voices of activists and communities rise against this tide, decrying ineffective governance, weak regulations, and the silencing of local wisdom in shaping the wetlands' future. In response, this investigation becomes an act of reclamation - a collaborative visual inquiry with civic organisations, legal experts, activists, scientists, and spatial designers.

This initiative has been shaped by the contributions of Chhandak Pradhan, Dhruba Das Gupta, Mark Mushiva (Institute of Decolonial Technology), Nina Martin, Sanantan Dari, Sumita Mandal, along with testimonies from several community members of the East Kolkata Wetlands who have chosen to remain unnamed.

Tidal Threads was conceptualised in the framework of an artistic research study commissioned by the Institute for Technology Assessment within the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.