“I count each day…”

2009 | Installation with 1 Siachen soldier’s poncho and video | Approximate poncho (width x height): 65 x 43 in. / 165.1 x 109.2 cm. | Installation dimensions: variable | Video: 3 min 30 sec | Photos: Project 88, Mumbai

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I count each day…, includes a video projected onto a suspended poncho. The video records a Siachen soldier marking the snow, as he counts the number of days, that he has survived on the glacier. This repeated action of tally marking documents the soldier’s existence and is also reminiscent of man’s prehistoric attempt to record time and space.

The concept of time for a soldier becomes distorted during his 90 days of service. He seeks solace in marking each passing day, as this action brings him hope and measures the time closer to him returning home. The connection between the video and poncho becomes heartrending, when we realize that the act of counting days and the soldier’s poncho, are both used as a means for protection and escape, from the unsympathetic glacier.