Silence is a large-scale continuous narrative painted on both sides of five Madurkathis. On one side of the painting, a dead body is being carried away by armed forces. In the background, there is a heap of books burning. A group of women are seen witnessing this gruesome action. On the other side of the painting is a collective body formed out of limbs carrying a banner. The banner consists of three words “We The People”, the same first three words from the preamble of the Indian constitution.
 

Madurkathi is an old traditional craft, centred in the Bengal region (India and Bangladesh) and is an integral part of the rural economy and its social fabric. These mats have evolved as a climatic response to the region's long, extremely hot and humid summers. It is an essential item to sleep on during the summer as these mats do not conduct heat and are sweat-absorbent. The paintings are done in Madurkathis as an act of registering contrasting actions between the people governing and the people governed.

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Arijit Bhattacharyya in collaboration with Suvojit Roy, Santanu Dey, Shibyan Halder, Soumik Ghosh, Suvankar Halder, Akhil Jana, Nilima Parda, Janardan Jana, Kabita Jana, Manaka Jana, Chandrakanta Jana, Dulu Parda, Rita Jana, Susama Kar, Kalipada Kar, Lakshmi Kar and Biswanath Mallick.

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Commissioned by Röda Sten Konsthall 2022.

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