Subashri Sankarasubramanian Indian, b. 1998
This collection of four photographs presented as a part of an installation, examines accessibility and the perceived autonomy of people over their consumption habits. The photographs are of a site-specific installation created in the artist’s own kitchen, and exposed to one of the most intimate spaces of modern homes. This near-voyeuristic documentation showcases several layers of ideas within a humble HDB kitchen covered with dough. It acts as a display of the veiled reluctance that is shown by the artist’s family in their forced interaction with the dough-covered floor, as is apparent in the way the footprints are seen in the photographs. It suggests the possibility of a complete process, i.e., a loaf of bread made with fresh kneaded dough, while in actuality, the dough is used as a metaphor for the lack of accessibility, despite the ever-increasing access to ingredients from around the world. The immense quantities of fresh dough spread upon the floor mocks the audience, referencing a line from the famous poem by Samuel T Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, which goes thus, “Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink”, questioning the notions of scarcity and availability.
