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Relics of Grey is a peculiar game of hide-and-seek. Upon entry, it is as if the sprawling gallery space is unoccupied. In search of something tangible, the viewer goes hurtling in, to be confronted by a gaudy façade of “VT Station”, immediately experiencing an acute sense of displacement. Part of the White Town, this imposing relic from the Raj, symbol of Queen Victoria’s regime, was recreated by Hande within the gallery space employing the skills of billboard painters, inhabitants of the Black Townthat has traditionally serviced the White Town. Ensconced in the clock-tower of the VT façade is the video, What’s in a name?. It addresses not only the re-naming of the colonial cities of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, and Mangalore, but also its significant landmarks and streets, in an attempt to erase India’s colonial history and heritage from public memory.
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