Arko Datto is an artist, curator and educator based in Kolkata, India. – @shunyoraja @dinosofhindostan @panopticams @captivecams
Paternal grandparents cabinet.
Courtesy of the artist.
Maternal grandparents cabinet.
Courtesy of the artist.
I grew up looking at and spending time around two curio cabinets, one in each of my grandparents’ homes. Curio cabinets are a mainstay in middle class Bengali families, comprising collections grown painstakingly over extended periods of time, from voyages to lands near and far and also by way of donations to the collections from friends and relatives.
They are a reflection not only of the quintessential Bengali desire to travel and see the immediate land and the world, but also of global routes charted by Bengalis across the Commonwealth for education and work. Both of these tendencies can be traced back to the strong colonial presence in this part of the sub-continent.
I felt that the curio collections also reflected the characteristics of my grandparents and the particular contexts of their lives: while my paternal grandparents’ cabinet had a more cheerful vibe, with magnetic ballerinas, glass animals and miniature alcohol bottles, my maternal grandparents’ cabinet had a palpably gothic sombre mood replete with oversized one-eyed dolls, dark bronze items and other paraphernalia.
Nevertheless I loved and was fascinated by both these cabinets as they seemed to provide a glimpse into the thoughts and histories of my family, thereby providing a glimpse into who I was and where I came from.
The cabinets created and contained their own distinct worlds therein, drawn from the greater world, brought into fruition through the innocent act of curation undertaken presumably by my two grandmothers. The glass panes in front functioning simultaneously as portal and barrier to these intractable worlds, eclectic heterotopias of plastic, ceramic, magnet and stone. I rarely if at all had access to the contents of these cabinets as a child, something that added to the fascination I had developed for them. The cabinets also seemed poised like ships, perpetually threatening to sail away with the world contained therein towards uncharted worlds.
Looking back upon these two cabinets, I cannot help but think of the role they must have played in my life taking the turns it did, fostering my curiosity for the wider world and for travels to unknown lands. After spending many years away in foreign parts, now I am back home and happily very close to these cabinets, reminding me of the childhood spent in the company of my kind and loving grandparents. — Arko Datto