River Boundaries Break the Sound of Silence Between Them
2022
Electric wires and metal
53 x 15 x 1.5 in. / 50 x 36 x 1.5 in. / 53 x 23 x 1.5 in. / 53 x 13 x 1.5 in. / 52 x 18 x 1.5 in. / 55 x 23 x 1.5 in.
53 x 15 x 1.5 in. / 53 x 18 x 1.5 in. / 54 x 19 x 1.5 in. / 54 x 9 x 1.5 in. / 52 x 20 x 1.5 in. / 53 x 9 x 1.5 in. (approx.)
Kallat’s practice has focused on river landscapes as the arteries of life that at once separate and connect, as well as play a complex role in today’s fragile ecological and social context. The tense borders intersecting rivers that flow between them, form ‘River Boundaries Break the Sound of Silence…’ The work explores the dual nature of rivers as both essential resources and centres of geopolitical tension. The artist began by delineating territorial boundaries between countries in dispute over the use of their shared river waters. Rivers do not recognise these artificial divisions and inherently transcend them, whether it is the Rhine, the Nile, the Arpaçay, the Imjin River between North and South Korea, the Danube between Serbia and Croatia, the Rio Grande between the USA and Mexico, the Shatt-Al-Arab between Iran and Iraq, or the Indus between India and Pakistan. Each border in the wall drawing is crafted from electrical cables that symbolize connection, serving as conduits for energy and communication. The resulting rearrangement of these man-made lines creates a more liberating topography, where rigid boundaries seamlessly transition into a free-flowing river.
