Raqs Media Collective
Not Yet At Ease
Not Yet At Ease explored the history of psychological disorders resulting from conflict and the stigmas attached to them. Using poetry and performance, this immersive artwork was inspired by letters written by soldiers during wartime.
The internationally renowned, Delhi-based Raqs Media Collective based this new work on their theory that the symptoms of ‘shell shock’ were first observed by military censors, who noticed a tendency among some Indian soldiers to break out spontaneously into ‘poetry’ in the letters they wrote from battlefields, barracks and hospitals. Not Yet At Ease gave voice to these words.
This major commission reworked letters, photographs and documents dating back to the First World War. Video and sound installations were created to tell the story of the condition known at the time as ‘shell shock’ and to reflect on how attitudes have changed towards those who carry the psychological burdens of war. In doing so, Not Yet At Ease invited visitors to explore interlinked histories of war, poetry and mental health.
Raqs Media Collective (Monica Narula, Jeebesh Bagchi & Shuddhabrata Sengupta) makes contemporary art, edits books, curates exhibitions, and stages situations. It has collaborated with architects, computer programmers, writers, curators, and theatre directors, and has made films. It co-founded Sarai – the inter-disciplinary and incubatory space at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi – in 2001, where it initiated processes that have left deep impact on contemporary culture in India.
Theory Opera. As part of Not Yet At Ease, Theory Opera was a series of public events that brought together a range of stories, ideas and experiences in response to the exhibition. Each event aimed to build on Raqs Media Collective’s extensive research to share discussions that explore the relationship between mental health and conflict both in the past and today.
About the artist
Raqs Media Collective was formed in in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. The word ‘raqs’ in several languages denotes an intensification of awareness and presence attained by whirling, turning, being in a state of revolution. Raqs Media Collective takes this sense of ‘kinetic contemplation’ so as to make a restless and energetic entanglement with the world, and with time. Raqs practices across several forms and media; it makes art, produces performances, writes, curates exhibitions, and occupies a unique position at the intersection of contemporary art, philosophical speculation, and historical enquiry. The members of Raqs Media Collective live and work in New Delhi, India. In 2001, they co-founded the Sarai program at CSDS (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies) New Delhi and ran it for a decade, where they also edited the Sarai Reader series.
Exhibitions curated by Raqs Media Collective
“In the Open or in Stealth – The Unruly Presence of an Intimate Future” (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona [MACBA], Barcelona, Spain, 2018-19)
11th Shanghai Biennale “Why Not Ask Again: Arguments, Counter-arguments, and Stories” (2016-17)
INSERT2014 (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, India, 2014)
“Sarai Reader 09” (Devi Art Foundation, Gurugram, India, 2012-13),
Manifesta 7 “The Rest of Now” (Bolzano, Italy, 2008)
