Lecture
CloseArko Datto: The Shunyo Raja Monographies
Visiting Artist Lecture in Photography
Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 6 – 7:30 PM ET
Arko Datto, as a Spring 2022 Visiting Artist in Photography, will deliver a public virtual lecture on Wednesday afternoon. Hosted by Amartya De, Photography MFA '22.
Free & open to the public. No advance registration required, simply click the link at the scheduled time to join.
Posters—which glow in the dark!—by M.C. Madrigal, Graphic Design MFA ‘23.
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The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta, comprising Bangladesh and West Bengal (India) is the world's largest delta. Rising sea levels and swelling rivers have submerged the delta’s Sundarbans islands. Several more risk disappearance. Inundations and storm surges increase salinity, threatening mangroves, soil, crops, and the availability of freshwater fish species – thus depriving families of food, homes and livelihoods. As the mangrove cover diminishes, the major cities of Kolkata and Dhaka lose a vital protective biological shield against cyclones and tsunamis.
"The Shunyo Raja Monographies" propose three different ways of seeing this site of climate change. The title derives from the words of an environmental refugee, who told Arko Datto: “Bereft of our land and livelihood, we are all but ‘shunyo rajas’ – ‘kings of a bereft land’ – in this erstwhile land of plenty.”
Chapter I: Kings of a Bereft Land
Chapter II: Where Do We Go When the Final Wave Hits
Chapter III: Terra Mutata
Arko Datto is an artist, educator and curator from Kolkata, India. Incorporating photography, video and installation art in his practice, he probes questions surrounding the image in the digital age while simultaneously playing the role of observer and commentator on critical contemporary issues.
His long-term personal projects, visual essays and commissions have been published in TIME, National Geographic, NEWSWEEK, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Smithsonian, Harper's Magazine amongst others. He has received grants from Prince Claus Fund (NL), The National Geographic Society, IDFA Bertha Fund (NL), Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting for his projects. His work has been exhibited globally at venues including the SFO Museum, Hamburger Bahnhof (DE), Museum für Angewandte Kunst (DE), Galleri Image (DK), Unseen Amsterdam (NL), Photo London (UK) among others.
He has published 3 photobooks: PIK-NIK (Editions Le bec en l'air, 2018, FR), MANNEQUIN (Edizioni L'artiere, 2018, IT), SNAKEFIRE (Edizioni L'artiere, 2021, IT). Datto has been an artist-in-residence at programs including Light Work (US), the Camargo Foundation (US/FR), Docking Station (NL), and Rimbun Dahan (MY). He co-curated the Chennai Photo Biennale 2021 and is represented by East Wing Gallery, Doha.
Learn more about the artist through his Instagram >
This talk was hosted as part of the Spring 2022 Visiting Artist Lectures in Photography at the Yale School of Art. Introduction by Amartya De, Photography MFA '22. Poster design by M.C. Madrigal, Graphic Design MFA ‘23. Video editing by Lindsey Mancini, Assistant Director of Communications.
