Located near to the coast as the name suggests "Sassoon Docks" is one of Mumbai's busiest docks. Happened to be here due to The Sassoon Dock Art Project initiated by St+Art India. It is their collaboration with locals and budding artists from over the world. You are welcomed by the lingering smell of fishes all over as you enter. A colorful mural is painted on one of the dilapidated structures notifying you to keep the docks clean.
The dock is flocked with boats arriving after fishing. The fisherwoman are seen receving and cleaning the fishes all over the harbour. The main entrance of the dock is covered entirely by photographs of the locals in black & white.
One has to register with name and email ID before the entry. You are stamped with "Art for All" as your entry proof.
The first installation 'The Idea of Smell' is hundred's of words put up over fishing nets. The idea comes from St+Art India's co-founder Hanif Kureshi. The words and phrases written in English & Hindi include Dettol, Cow dung, Hotel pillow, Petrol, Cow, Crayons, New book( seeing which actually made me feel so) , sunscreen, The smell of your blanket, First rain, Mom's cooking, Just lit matches, files of the government office, soil after rain and much more to not end the list . Eventually the entire installation stands true to the note : sensations that can only be thought of and not felt!
2nd installation "Clemens Behr" is the one made up of materials we see on a construction site. Making us think about the lives of people behind the rising luxurious buildings we see all over.
Moving further you see little walls covered with some designs and a picture of woman into each one of them. The designs are actually the motifs on the sarees of those women respectively. I loved this brilliant concept. :)
Another installation "Overflow". Their are poems describing love affair between a fisherwoman and her lover put up on intricately weaved embroidery work, made from organza and fiberglass. They hang from the top till bottom all over the room you can read across.
You get to see how urbanisation has changed lives through an installation "Koli Women". The room is divided into 2 halves. You see a delicately carved work depicting Koli women engrossed in their work as you enter the room while at the backside lies pictures depicting growing urbanisation and their effects.
The best one that gathers alot of crowd is the Singaporean artist, Tan Zi Xi's "Plastic Ocean". Gives you a feel of being trapped deep under water covered by plastics. The entire room is covered by plastics and wastes collected from Dharavi hanging all over and mirrors places on all sides to give it a drowning effect.
There are walls covered with huge murals of three local fisherwomen painted in shades of brown.
Also Sassoon Studio views the stories, lives and music at the docks.
The art project is spread over 3 floors with huge other installations put up at several places evidently showing the meaning of its presence.
The Sassoon Dog put up at several corners is seen peeing over the work. It says " And then just like that... he walked away happily into the oblivion".
The very obvious message it passed was how we ourselves tend to destroy & dirty our own surroundings which are in order made by we, ourselves.
I walked out of the colorful building with a thought at the back of my mind on how did one even think of beautifying something that lied completely unnoticed all these years? And how gracefully has the particular thought showed up. :)
The entry to the art project is free. I insist, art lovers, and also others who will probably sit at home this weekend and the one to come next ; put on your shoes and give a visit. We might be not the big thought behind this initiative, but we can always appreciate those who made it large.
The exhibition is open till 30th dec,2017.
