The River Meets the Sea

Through his work, Debashish Paul navigates landscapes as he perceives them as queer ecologies. What he finds in
himself around nature reflects the complexities that lie within, he describes them as conversational exchanges.
The river has been his companion since childhood, always forming the periphery of his home. Now based in Varanasi,
the cultural significance and knowledge of the river Ganga has become very closely tied to his practice.
The artist believes that his body is not separate from this river and is carried within him on every journey he’s
undertaken.
On his arrival to Kochi, he found himself drawn to the water bodies surrounding the small island. A meeting of the river
he holds within and the sea that has called for his presence. The vastness of this meeting, of river and sea, has spiritual
ties. The artist draws parallels to the nature of our bodies, what we are capable of feeling, to the subliminal nature of
the sea.
In this performance, Paul created two costumes representing the river and the sea. On each panel of these garments,
he has intricately drawn out narratives that describe his personal experiences against the landscapes they are
presented in. Debashish’s stylistic visual language is influenced by his past and present, bound by his care for nature