Also an ontological question. The rhinoceros was drawn based on textual records, and the elephant continues to comprise itself, with itself. I think it's a very interesting, dense set of ideas within the project to open up!
How to identify information which is not known earlier? How do we interpret it?
I think there can be a play of multiple formsts herer, that might claim different legibilities; you already create a counterr narrative; it might be interesting to think of inter-citing within these different formats.
Thinking of the rhinoceros as a historical image of transmission. Could the project escape such a reading? Or, would you want it to detatch that reading of it somehow? I think this brings to light also the question precisely of the contexts the visual can index to, even if we do not intend them to; A representational question and of agency within the mediation.
what does the elephant think? and what does the rhinoceros? would it be productive to think beyond the anthropocentric here?
anisotropy
The juxtaposing of exotic fantasy and the artistic experiement
In the summer of 2016, while rearranging my parents' miniature art store for the upcoming season of sale, I encountered an A5-sized book with a sky-blue cover.
[ F R O N T - C O V E R ]
JOHN KEAY
The Spice Route
(An illustration of what, at first glance, looks like fruits and vegetables.)
[ B A C K - C O V E R]
The exotic saga of the Spice Route: its mysterious origins, intrepid traders, and pungent cargoes.
John Keay pieces together a historical process that spans three millennia and a geographical progression that encircles the world. With the tang of drama in every voyage, The Spice Route transports the reader from the dawn of history to the ends of the earth.
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Forgotten behind by a tourist at my parents’ store, the book, in its 10-11 years, was used to leaf in tracing and carbon papers, damaged paintings and resin plates to be flattened and reused, and many other materials pressed inside for one or the other purpose. The glorified image of the spice trade from the forgotten past seeped into the exchange of exotic miniature paintings from my lived present.
---*---
The German inscription on Durer’s woodcut reads:
“On the first of May in the year 1513 AD, the powerful King of Portugal, Manuel of Lisbon, brought such a living animal from India, called the rhinoceros. This is an accurate representation. It is the colour of a speckled tortoise, and is almost entirely covered with thick scales. It is the size of an elephant but has shorter legs and is almost invulnerable. It has a strong pointed horn on the tip of its nose, which it sharpens on stones. It is the mortal enemy of the elephant. The elephant is afraid of the rhinoceros, for, when they meet, the rhinoceros charges with its head between its front legs and rips open the elephant's stomach, against which the elephant is unable to defend itself. The rhinoceros is so well-armed that the elephant cannot harm it. It is said that the rhinoceros is fast, impetuous and cunning.”
The German inscription on Durer’s woodcut reads (Elephant as the protagonist):
“On the first of May in the year 1513 AD, the powerful King of Portugal, Manuel of Lisbon, brought such a living animal from India, called the elephant. This is an accurate representation. It is the colour of a speckled tortoise, and is almost entirely covered with faces. It is the size of a rhinoceros but has larger legs and is almost invulnerable. It has strong pointed teeth adjacent to its nose, which it sharpens on stones. It is the mortal enemy of the rhinoceros. The rhinoceros is afraid of the elephant, for, when they meet, the elephant charges with its head between its front legs and rips open the rhinoceros’s stomach, against which the rhinoceros is unable to defend itself. The elephant is so well-armed that the rhinoceros cannot harm it. It is said that the elephant is fast, impetuous and cunning.”
Possibility to play with different forms that comes together as a collection of folios, drawings, objects, woodcuts, books.
To present the work as fragments, as multiple folios carrying fragmented anecdotes/thoughts navigating like different trade routes over time.
To recategorize the taxonomy of precious objects; horns of the rhino, tusks of elephant, spices and other precious objects
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