ABSTRACT
This chapter will seek to evaluate the possible affective potential art practices and ecological concerns can together forge. This is attempted through a close reading of a series of performances by Dhiraj Pednekar, a Sculptor, Art Director and Performance Artist based in Goa. Environment and the impact of unbridled human greed on the planet has been one of the persistent concerns in his recent works. This chapter studies five of his performances: “This land is mine” (2019), “This land is mine too” (2020), “Do I belong to this rock anymore?” (2021), “These lands, waters, and sky belong to me too” (2021) and “Dislocated” (2021). In these performances, Pednekar uses his body as a site for both contestation and contemplation around the central idea of “planetarity” and functions as a voice for not just humans but for other forms of life in the shared ecosystem. In his powerfully evocative performances, he raises issues of de-territorialization, belonging and the issue of shared emotive relationship with the planet. Further, by performing live in public spaces, Pednekar allows audience to become a part of his performance widening the scope of engagement that connects humans and the planet. Close reading of documented videos, still images, interviews and textual material forms the research design of this chapter.
