Lecture Demonstration Saros 132
By Rohini Devasher
Speculations from the Field, a talk with video, sound and image will put forward forms through which we might begin to explore the ‘field’ both as a series of physical sites - skies, sea forts, observatories, telescopes etc, and as a methodology where the ‘field’ becomes a space for investigation that allows you to explore something unfamiliar. This talk is one part of the larger Saros 132 project, which explores our planet as a constantly evolving construct, combining the study of what we know, what we imagine, and what we hope for our future on it and with it.Saros is a period of approximately 6,585.3 days or 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours, that is used to predict eclipses of the Moon and Sun. One saros period after an eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon return to approximately the same relative geometry, a near straight line, and a nearly identical eclipse will occur. On December 26, 2019 at 08:07, states in Southern India including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, will witness an Annular Solar Eclipse. This eclipse is part of Saros cycle 132 and is number 46 of 71 events in the series. The series started with partial solar eclipse on August 13, 1208. The series ends at number 71 as a partial eclipse on September 25, 2470. Saros 132 hopes to bring into conversation the geometry of the Earth, Moon and Sun, but also the geometry between event (the solar eclipse) and site (Kodaikanal Solar Observatory) in a spatial and temporal conjunction. An eclipse of ideas; of direct observation and experience on one hand; and information and data on the other, each representing specific ways to understand the Sun and our position relative to it, philosophically and scientifically.
Actant
Rohini Devasher has trained as a painter and printmaker, and works in a variety of media including, video, prints and large site-specific drawings. Her current body of work is a collection of ‘strange’ terrains, constructed by observing, recording, and reimagining objects and spaces that exist at the interface between art and science, nature and culture, perception and production. Devasher’s work has been shown at the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) (2018); 7th Moscow Biennial (2017); the Spencer Museum of Art (2018,16); USA, MAAT Museum of Art and Technology, Lisbon, ZKM, Karsruhe (2016); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2016); and the 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial (2014), among others. She has had solo exhibitions at the Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, Mumbai (2016, 2018); Vis-a-Vis Experience Centre, New Delhi (2016); Project 88, Mumbai (2013,2009). Recent shows include Hopeful Monsters at Project 88, Mumbai (2019). Devasher’s work is currently exhibited at the 14th Sharjah Biennial Leaving the Echo Chamber.