Search Party

Search Party follows a fisherman and sluice gate guard moving through Goa’s wetlands/Khazans at night, his headtorch tracing partial views across tidal gates and manoses. The act of searching becomes a way of approaching memory—what is hidden, altered, or erased. The beam of light does not simply reveal; it also produces uncertainty, partial views, and fleeting encounters.

The video is usually accompanied by an array of specimens—sculptural objects made from materials found around the khazans. These appear as if they were the fisherman’s catch, though resisting clear identification. They function as thresholds: fragmented clues - as inscriptions of time and use, bearing witness to the forces that shaped them.

Search Party gathers these elements into a loose field of evidence. The objects do not resolve into a single narrative but remain open, inviting interpretation. The work proposes a tactile game of hide and seek, where viewers are drawn into the act of searching—tracing connections, constructing possible histories, and navigating a landscape shaped by both presence and disappearance.

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This work is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) under the Arts Practice programme, made possible with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund.

Search Party (16min)

Link to the full video.

(pw - rai.ink)