Invisible Corridors: In Person with Hrishitonoy Dutta and Radhika Rao

Invisible Corridors is a project by the Uppu Collective that attempts to expand upon perceptions of space and sentience by examining animal road kills. The collective, comprising Hrishitonoy Dutta and Radhika Rao, works at the intersection of scientific communication and artistic expression through biodiversity education and conservation advocacy. Invisible Corridors was initiated using the Serendipity Visual Arts Research Grant in 2020 and is a part of the Serendipity Arts Festival 2022 in Panjim, Goa. The exhibition came together through Dutta and Rao’s reflections on the numbness that follows extinction, navigating co-existing thoughts on loss and the ways in which we process grief. 

In this conversation, Dutta and Rao take us through the first physical display of their ongoing research project. They speak about how the project came to be, their process of working with children at the Parijat Academy in Pamohi, Assam and their attempts to prioritise local knowledge systems over established scientific authority. The exhibition is divided into two major parts. The first is a wall where they have laid out their research, including questionnaires, stories, reports and drawings, which emerged from their engagement at the Parijat Academy and with people in the Garbhanga Forest Reserve on the outskirts of Guwahati. The second part of the exhibition is subdivided into three sections—Disappearing Act, Balancing Act and Highway Hypnosis—all of which invite viewers to engage with the ideas Dutta and Rao have been dealing with through their research. 

Uppu Collective’s work seeks to bridge the gap between the scientific community and everyone outside it. The collective aims to challenge the current power dynamics in the sciences by focusing on credible and scientifically sound knowledge, produced from local epistemic roots. Employing an engaged, dialogic and exploratory approach, they also organise workshops, discussions and games as part of the research project. 

^{(Featured image: Installation view of the Grieving Machine as part of Invisible Corridors at Serendipity Arts Festival, 2022. Hrishitonoy Dutta and Radhika Rao.)}

Conversation recorded on 16 December 2022.