Sin Free World
Performance at the British Library, London, Video, 15 min
The Evening Standard and other tabloids that scatter the streets of London at half past seven after sunset are a very small part of the overflow of paper, text and print in modern societies. A prayer from a found Jain text that states the various ways in which we sin due to the misuse of paper, pen and the instruments of knowledge was read aloud in the sanctuary of the British Library amongst the people who were sinning in most of the ways mentioned in the religious text, in an effort to cleanse their sins and spread awareness. How the sins are committed were performed as silent gestures before the reading of the text.
Presented in the context of a site specific intervention, the performance drew inspiration from the city of London amidst the numerous CCTV cameras and the silence zone of a library.
Stills from video:
Text source from a Jain scripture