Everyday Monuments
Rajesh Vora photographs Punjabi villages where the mundane becomes symbolic.
Rajesh Vora, from the series "Everyday Monuments," 2014-2019
inkjet prints, dimensions variable (photos courtesy of artist and PHOTOINK, New Delhi)
A full-sized tractor sits atop a house. Another home sports a soccer player kicking a ball. A replica jumbo jet, nearly as massive as the house itself, is an obvious bid for attention. These homemade sculptures began life as rooftop water tanks and evolved, over time, into aspirational expressions of status, travel and success.
The story of these creative adaptations is documented in Everyday Monuments, on view at the Surrey Art Gallery in Metro Vancouver until May 29. The show features Mumbai-based photographer Rajesh Vora’s images of some 100 decorated water tanks in the Doaba region of Punjab, the northwest state in India where much of B.C.’s South Asian population has roots.
Rajesh Vora, from the series "Everyday Monuments," 2014-2019, inkjet prints, dimensions variable (photos courtesy of artist and PHOTOINK, New Delhi)
Water tanks are simple and utilitarian. Well water is pumped to the rooftop and gravity fed to the house below. The first decorated tank, reconfigured with a muzzle to resemble a military tank, was spotted in the 1970s and the trend took off after that.
Horses, weightlifters, automobiles: they all carry meaning. A tractor identifies the family as farmers. A sports figure means the inhabitants are fans. An airplane lets people know the family had enough money to leave India in search of success overseas. The painted sculptures are created out of rebar, wire mesh and cement by local artisans untrained in the fine arts but proficient with materials.
Vora says the sculptures highlighted in the show, guest curated by Keith Wallace, serve both the individual and the community.
“These everyday monuments on the rooftops imbue the buildings with life,” he says. “Not only do they animate the otherwise serene skyline, but they also become landmarks for the village.”
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Rajesh Vora, from the series "Everyday Monuments," 2014-2019
inkjet prints, dimensions variable (photos courtesy of artist and PHOTOINK, New Delhi)
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Rajesh Vora, from the series "Everyday Monuments," 2014-2019
inkjet prints, dimensions variable (photos courtesy of artist and PHOTOINK, New Delhi)
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Rajesh Vora, from the series "Everyday Monuments," 2014-2019
inkjet prints, dimensions variable (photos courtesy of artist and PHOTOINK, New Delhi)
Vora is a commercial photographer who documents schools, homes and office buildings. Drawn to architectural photography because of his interest in form and geometry, his pieces are perfectly composed and often appear in the Indian editions of Architectural Digest, Domus and Arch Daily. He enjoys the slow and calculated process of setting up his tripod and positioning himself for the perfect shot.
“I enjoy the wait,” he says.
Vora discovered the sculptural water tanks while on assignment in 2014 and returned to the area to document the tanks for himself. Initially, he approached the structures as portraiture, knocking on doors for permission to go to the roof and photograph the sculptures head on. Yet something was missing. His earlier work photographing socially relevant building projects in India and Bangladesh suggested a more personal, less formal approach.
“It encouraged me to break out of my rigidity and be more playful by simply shifting the axis and altering the size of the images,” he says. Long shots and close-ups gave him the choice between contextual images and a portrait style of documentation.
Rajesh Vora, from the series "Everyday Monuments," 2014-2019
inkjet prints, dimensions variable (photos courtesy of artist and PHOTOINK, New Delhi)
Vora climbed stairs and jumped terraces to catch the perfect light and find different perspectives. He composed shots with animals or foliage in the foreground to show the immediate environment. And he paid attention to the houses themselves as examples of local designs built with local materials.
The water tank phenomenon has spread to neighbouring districts and the sculptures have become larger and more complex, displacing their original purpose. Today, there are often two structures on the roof, one a water tank and the other a showpiece.
“These sculptures immortalize stories about the struggles, successes and achievements that reflect faith, gratitude, profession or aspirations,” says Vora. “The struggles may not be obvious but there are stories to be told.” ■
Rajesh Vora: Everyday Monuments at the Surrey Art Gallery from April 9 to May 29, 2022.
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