The Blue Jackal Under the Tree India

When the famous Argentine author Borges wrote, "I saw a sunset in Queretaro that seemed to reflect the colour of a rose in Bengal," he expressed the crosscurrents and fluidity of one culture, object, or image touching another. Even when our roots are firmly in our birth state, as artists, we can transcend borders. While in residence in India, Goodine was struck by the commonality among societies and their respective mythologies. The Blue Jackal Under the Tree investigates and records with sound, video, and camera the diverse culture of India by examining how various laborers and farmers are influenced by and react to their environment via tradition and mythologies. Goodine worked on location in and around the confluences of India's Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers (both tributaries of the Ganges). Here, land use and water scarcity intersect with labour, gender, and environmental issues. This body of work was made possible by the Nehru-Fulbright Award.