Mital’s artwork “The Road to Bareilly, Pt. I” is part of a new series of video works exploring themes of diaspora and immigration. The work follows the artist’s trip with his family to visit his mother’s hometown in India.
In this work, Mital explores perception through the lens of personal interrogation. In the videos, Mital’s mother, who has now lived in the US longer than in India, reflects on her experience in Bareilly – the town where she grew up. She considers how it’s been transformed from the jungle she once knew into a busy, crowded metropolis. Mital reflects on the same sentiment, but also attempts to reconcile his associations to India with his fractured Indian American roots.
Mital’s confusion is not unique. In fact, it’s such a well known sentiment that there’s a name for it: “abcd” or “American Born Confused Desi.” This sentiment was amplified recently when Mital learned that his own mother calls him “the confused desi” to his extended family members. In that moment, he was reminded that individuals’ experiences and struggles are not generic, but deeply personal and complex.
For Mital, the video series explores the sacrifices made by immigrants and their children, as well as the challenges of reconciling one’s roots with one’s present. The associations and juxtapositions of the algorithmic collage are meant to highlight the fractured nature of perception, and how one’s memories almost become the paint for one’s reality.
Through his art and research, Mital continues to explore the nuances of perception and representation, and how they intersect with human identities and experiences.
