<script language='javascript' type='text/javascript'>function ReverseContentDisplay(d) {if(d.length < 1) { return; }if(document.getElementById(d).style.display == 'none') {  document.getElementById(d).style.display = 'block';   document.getElementById("uniquename1").style.display = 'none'; }  else {   document.getElementById(d).style.display = 'none';   document.getElementById("uniquename1").style.display = 'block';}}</script>
<style type="text/css">
h3.canvas  {
color:#333333;
font-size:11px
font-weight:normal;
margin-bottom:5px;
margin-left:7px;
margin-top:0;
padding:0;
text-transform:none;
}

h2.painting  {
color:#FFFFFF;
font-family:verdana,arial,tahoma,sans-serif;
font-size:11px;
font-weight:normal;
margin:0 0 10px 7px;
padding:0;
text-align:left;
text-transform:none;
}
</style>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody><tr><td width="60%" align="left" valign="top">
<a href=""><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-works-page-image.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-349" /></a></td><td width="200" align="left" valign="bottom" style="font-size:11px;"><span style="color: #888888;">Preface</span>
2010
handmade paper book, wooden stand, two-channel video projection
Duration 13mins15secs
28 x 75 x 56 in. I 71 x 190 x 142 cm (h x l x b)
<a href="http://youtu.be/VtF6X3At8lA" target="_blank"><span style="color: #888888;">view video >></span></a>
</td></tr></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size:11px;"><i>Installation view</i> , Kulturhuset, Stockholm </span></td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody><tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-1.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td><td width="400" align="justify" valign="top" style="font-size:11px;">
<div id="uniquename1" style="display:block">
The video work ‘Preface’ consists of an oversized book, presented like a sacred/ religious object on a prayer stand. The book presents the promise of democracy enshrined within the Preamble of the Constitution of India, in Braille. The video has developed as a result of my long engagement with the text, The Preamble of the Constitution of India that elucidates the purpose and underlying philosophy of the Constitution. Being the most religiously diverse country in the world, India’s democratic republic is premised on a national belief in pluralism and an assimilative culture. Rendered in Braille and thus reduced to various unreadable dots are words that spell out the fundamental principles, procedures, powers and responsibilities of the government and also the fundamental rights and duties of citizens. What you see are a series of images that evoke neural patterns constantly changing, transforming where the dots/words break open, blot, clot, smudge and stain the pages. What interests me is how this text gets interpreted by different people differently.</div>
</td>
</tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-3.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-4.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-5.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-6.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-process-1-2.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="height: 15px;"></td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<a href="#"><img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-process-3-4.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="height: 15px;"></td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="200" align="left" valign="top">
<img src="http://www.reenakallat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Preface-process-5-6.jpg" alt="Preface" title="Preface" width="600"  class="alignnone size-full wp-image-350" /><span style="font-size:11px;"><i>process shots of the video</i></span></td>
</tr><tr><td ><span style="font-size:11px; line-height:15px;"><i>Acknowledgement:</i> 
Camera: Ajay Noronha
Editing: Pooja Madhavan, Sruti Visweswaran
Technical assistance: Abhinit Khanna
</span>
</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>