River Talk II
2nd July 2027
Sonia Mehra Chawla is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher based in New Delhi. Her artistic approach explores concepts of ecology, sustainability, and conservation through a multispecies lens while examining the complex relationship between scientific knowledge and colonial authority. Sonia is a fellow of the British Council, Khoj + Wellcome Trust UK/DBT Alliance, ifa-Germany, Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin, and Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart. Her work has been exhibited at the Inverlieth House Museum, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Tate Modern, London, Radialsystem, Berlin, Albertina Modern, Vienna, CSMVS Museum, Mumbai, Indian Museum, Kolkata, ifa Galerie, Stuttgart, and Wardlaw Museum, Scotland.
পাট, Paat (Jute): Memory, Resistance and Erasure
As the Ganga’s westernmost arm, the Hooghly River is the lifeblood of Bengal. It anchored India’s first industrial heartland and shaped its colonial past. Today, it remains at the center of vital debates over water diversion, siltation, port sustainability, and the survival of the endangered Ganges River Dolphin. The river’s vast water supply made West Bengal a jute powerhouse, lining its banks with historic mills. At River Talk II, Sonia will share this project that traces jute’s "tangled thread" from Bengal’s fields to the factories and industrial looms of Dundee in Scotland. Through this connection, the project examines the legacies of capitalism, colonial authority, and climate change. By viewing through the lens of jute, this project aims to enhance our relationship with the river—celebrating it as an essential ecosystem that supports all forms of life, a crucial pathway for migration, a poetic influence in contemporary culture, and a lyrical link for both human and non-human narratives.
'স্থির দৃষ্টি: The Gaze', Courtesy: Sonia Mehra Chawla
If you missed River Talk II and would like to receive a recording, please sign up here
River Talks are curated by Noor Ahmed, Martina Huber, and Anushka Rajendran for River Landscapes in collaboration with Karachi Biennale 2027, We Are AIA|Awareness in Art, and Prameya Art Foundation