Thukral and Tagra, an artist duo, are set to debut a new interactive project titled ‘and Archive’ on April 28 at The India Art Fair in New Delhi. The project builds on their game design experience and backgrounds in typography and printing to create a series of game editions and book works. The book and game editions are a means of disseminating knowledge, driven by in-depth research, that further delves into the field of game design, sustainability and self-introspecting themes for all generations to indulge in the practical understanding of knowledge and creativity.

Thukral and Tagra’s game editions reflect on feelings of hopelessness, daily trials and tribulations, and national issues such as climate change. Among the key works is ‘Weeping Farm, 2022’, which follows a group of women from the Indian agrarian community who are burdened with overdue debts, working odd jobs, and attempting to survive in a highly competitive world. The game follows the year-long journey of a female farmer as she struggles to survive against all odds.

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By utilising only handcrafted and eco-friendly materials, these games have been carefully designed to ensure sustainability and to promote environmentally conscious products. Following a similar approach, ‘2030 Net Zero, 2022’ is a game that attempts to explore the tonnes of greenhouse gases that are added to our atmosphere each year, with the goal of reducing it to net zero.

Thukral and Tagra’s book, on the other hand, reflects on various dimensions such as nature, ecosystem, agrarian crisis, debts, suicide, rejection, shrinking employment, and much more. The iconic ‘Weeping Farm, 2022′ — a book developed out of explorations and observations made from the Indian agrarian crisis, which pinpoints towards the everyday battles of food insecurity, privatisation, indebtedness, and so on — is one of the key books.

The book contains nine iterations as well as interactive engagements in which the reader can see three aspects of the artists’ practise come together, including a long-standing interest in socio-economics of society, a growing concern for research and lexicon building into current systems, and a desire to recognise the urgency through the metaphorical vocabulary of sports and play as a pedagogical tool.

“Artistic processes are unique, they are honest time-stamps and documents for future reference and retrospect. Archives are humble ledgers, and record transactions of particular time and emotions. An artist’s book should be seen as a key building block of the culture. We have always believed an artist has the potential to experiment, and manifest ideas which question the status quo, and ask for a change. The fact that art can comfort and disrupt them at the same time. We apply our skills and bring knowledge dissemination in various ways such as formats of the game which act as an extension to the book, they sit at the intersection of design and performance,” said Thukral and Tagra.

‘Somnium Semnibus’, in addition to the book collection, revolves around the idea of a journey both inwards and outwards; the exercise is a humble approach to illustrating the wide variety of species present in Rani Bagh, Bombay, that compels us to think of the ecosystem around us.

Thukral and Tagra have received widespread acclaim for their use of visual art as a medium to express their opinions on a variety of national and societal issues. Their new project aims to deliver the same message of disseminating valuable insights and perspectives while engaging with multi-generational audiences through an unconventional yet creative and educational approach.

You can view the games and books at The IAF Studio, India Art Fair, from April 28-May 1, 2022.