Latest news with #TimanjalaGhar:ThreeStoreyHouse
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Street to studio, verse as art commodity
The spat between poet Aamir Aziz and artist Anita Dube over the reproduction of Aziz's popular poem, Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, in Dube's recent exhibition in Delhi, Timanjala Ghar: Three Storey House, raises interesting questions about the ethics and process of art production. Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, performed by Aziz first on YouTube in January 2020, had become an anthem of sort for the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protestors. Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters recited it at a protest meet against the incarceration of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, further expanding its audience. Dube reproduced the poem in her work, 'After Aamir Aziz', while acknowledging Aziz's authorship but, in the latter's words, 'without his knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation', which violate Indian copyright laws. Aziz has hinted that his hurt is more about the form and context in which the poem was reproduced as an art object. In fact, he has said 'if someone holds my poem on a placard at a protest, I stand with them'. He goes on to describe Dube's artwork as 'theft' and 'erasure', whereas Dube claims that her intent was to celebrate Aziz's verse. She has since acknowledged an 'ethical lapse' and the artist and gallery have decided not to put the work on sale. However, the controversy puts the spotlight on the practice of an artist working with a pre-existing piece of art. Art production is also a conversation with the past: Existing creations (epics, music compositions to photographs) often become ingredients of new works in new contexts. This process could be interpreted as inspiration, collaboration, appropriation, or erasure (as Aziz has said). In the absence of trust and transparency in the engagement, reproduction, renewal or reworking of existing material could be deemed unethical or dishonest. This underlies Aziz's fears that his political art has been appropriated and commodified in a studio environment, which produces a sanitised aesthetics that is in sharp contrast to the language of protest.
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Aziz accuses artist of using Delhi protest poem without credit
Poet Aamir Aziz, known for his viral spoken word performances since 2019, has accused artist Anita Dube of using lines from his poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega without his 'knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation.' Aziz has reportedly demanded adequate compensation, and legal representatives for both parties are currently in talks. In a series of posts on X on April 20, a day after Dube's solo exhibition concluded, Aziz wrote: 'My poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega has been used without my knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation by the internationally celebrated artist Anita Dube.' Aziz first performed the poem on YouTube in January 2020 during the anti-CAA and NRC protests. Dube, 66, a celebrated feminist artist and the 2018 curator of the Kochi Biennale, had also publicly supported the protests at the time. Dube's solo show, Timanjala Ghar: Three Storey House, ran from mid-March to April 19 at Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi. The exhibition included a series of works referencing revolutionaries like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, and Dr BR Ambedkar — alongside at least five works that incorporated Aziz's words. One work was titled 'After Aamir Aziz.' Aziz also pointed to another of Dube's works that referenced his poem and was shown at an exhibition in Mumbai in 2023. Aziz shared photographs of four pieces displayed at Vadehra, claiming they used his lines. According to him, one work was renamed after a legal notice was sent — though he did not specify to whom — but another retained its original name despite the notice. 'Let's be clear: if someone holds my poem on a placard at a protest, I stand with them. But this is not that. This is my poem, written in velvet cloth, carved in wood, hung in a commercial white cube, renamed, rebranded, and resold at an enormous price without telling me. This is not solidarity. This is theft. This is erasure,' Aziz wrote. Responding to the allegations, Dube said she was saddened by the 'social media trial' and admitted to an 'ethical lapse.' She acknowledged being deeply moved by Aziz's poem and said she used the lines in the 'spirit of Commons and Copy Left.' 'I realise I made an ethical lapse in only giving credit but not checking with Aamir before using his poem. I called him, apologised, and offered remuneration. Aamir instead sent a legal notice, and I had to consult a lawyer,' her statement read. Aziz also accused Vadehra Art Gallery of refusing to remove the artworks when requested. 'I have sent legal notices, demanded accountability. In return: silence, half-truths, and insulting offers. I asked them to take the work down. They refused,' he posted. The works were eventually taken off sale after Aziz contacted the gallery and artist. The gallery responded, defending its approach. 'Vadehra Art Gallery has always stood behind strong, political creative expressions. We give space to such practitioners because it is vital for society. All works using words from his poem were attributed to him in the wall texts, alongside quotes from Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Dr Ambedkar, which were also properly credited,' said gallery director Roshni Vadehra. According to senior advocate Chander Mohan Lall, an expert on intellectual property law, India's copyright laws prohibit any reproduction of a work without a license. 'Even partial reproduction of a literary work, such as converting it into visual art, requires a license. India does not have a de minimis exception like the US,' Lall said. Aziz's poem gained international attention when it was recited by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters in 2020 at an event protesting the incarceration of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The Hindu
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega': poet Aamir Aziz accuses artist Anita Dube of ‘theft, erasure' of his work
Mumbai-based poet-activist Aamir Aziz has accused noted artist Anita Dube of using his widely known protest poem — 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' — 'without his consent, credit, or compensation'. 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' gained prominence during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. In February 2020, English singer-songwriter Roger Waters had read out Mr. Aziz's poem at a London event. The artworks in question are part of an ongoing solo exhibition of Ms. Dube's works, 'Timanjala Ghar: Three Storey House', at New Delhi's Vadehra Art Gallery. Ms. Dube, 66, is a renowned artist and art critic. She was the curator of the Kochi Biennale in 2018. The 35-year-old said he first learnt about the unauthorised use of his work when a friend spotted his poem stitched into a display at the Vadehra Art Gallery on March 18. 'That was the first time I learnt Anita Dube had taken my poem and turned it into her 'art'. When I confronted her, she made it seem normal – like lifting a living poet's work, branding it into her own, and selling it in elite galleries for lakhs of rupees was normal,' Mr. Aziz wrote in a statement on social media. He said this was not a one-off incident. He later discovered his poem had been previously used in a 2023 exhibition titled 'Of Mimicry, Mimesis and Masquerade', curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, and showcased at the India Art Fair in 2025 without his knowledge.'Let's be clear: if someone holds my poem in a placard at a protest, a rally, a people's uprising — I stand with them. But this is not that. This is not solidarity. This is not homage. This is not conceptual borrowing. This is theft. This is erasure,' he said. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Aziz said he didn't have anything more to add and is taking legal advice. On Monday, Ms. Dube admitted there was an 'ethical lapse' on her part in only giving credit, but not checking with Mr. Aziz about using words from his poem. 'However, I reached out and called him, apologised, and offered to correct this by remuneration. He instead chose to send a legal notice, and then I had to go to a lawyer as well.' Known for politically charged works, in one of her interviews, she said she was 'interested in how a word can become architecture'. In a statement, Ms. Dube said she was responding to the social media trial initiated by Mr. Aziz with sadness. 'I have been in love with 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega', especially some lines which swirled around in my head like dervishes.' Hoping to resolve the issue in a fair manner, the artist further said, 'As a visual artist I work with materials that I love, that become means to critically comment, and the intent of quoting words from Aamir Aziz's poem was to celebrate them. It is the lost old world where there were fellow traveller solidarities, the spirit of the Commons and Copy Left. I have quoted Martin Luther King, Bell Hooks, and others in the same spirit in this exhibition and elsewhere.' As far as the accusation of her wanting to monetise the poem, Ms. Dube said, 'I immediately put the works not for sale.' The Vadehras also issued a statement. 'We have been in touch with Aamir Aziz and his legal representatives for over a month. We immediately ensured that the works Aamir Aziz has concerns with were not offered for sale. We hope that the discussions that are ongoing between Aamir Aziz and Anita Dube can be resolved in an amicable and constructive manner.' The exclusive rights of owners of literary works (like poems) includes, inter alia, the right to reproduce, the right to issue copies, the right to communicate it to the public. Arguably, all the rights would be violated if a poem is used without consent in an artwork. Such use may not qualify to be a transformative use (whose applicability under Indian copyright law is anyways debatable), said Sneha Jain, advocate who specialises in intellectual property rights.
