The Yamuna River in India is both highly venerated and also highly polluted. Where it flows through New Delhi, the river is both a site of purification rituals and also the city’s open sewer. This review of the exhibition ABSUR- CITY –PITY DITY explores this paradox. Artwork is included from multiple media; more detail is at the artist’s web site.
Aestheticizing the Reality of a Polluted River
![Vibha Galhotra, “365 Days” (2015), 365 drawings made of ink, photocopy, collage and sediment on paper, and 365 glass bottles, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 1 3/8 in (each framed drawing), 2 3/4 x 1 3/4 diameter (each glass bottle), overall installation dimensions variable (click to enlarge)](https://i0.wp.com/openrivers.lib.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/VG15.009-365Days.jpg?fit=1050%2C700&ssl=1)