The Chilika Lake is one of the largest brackish water lagoons. It is a popular visiting spot for several species of migratory birds and is also known for its population of flamingos. The lake supports a variety of flora and fauna, including dolphins, turtles, birds, and fish.

The artist’s work incorporates reality and surrealistic imagery to represent the current local environmental situation. This is a “Butterfly effect” of a global ecological crisis involving rising temperatures, floods, and other complex situations that directly or indirectly affect these fragile zones. There is a struggle with migratory birds that come from far-off countries to roost and take flight. Migration involves long and challenging journeys of thousands of kilometres across continents to find suitable conditions for feeding, breeding and raising their young.

With the visible impact of climate change on us, we hear about the decline of bird populations as the wetlands have become vulnerable and challenge avian biodiversity. The seasonal flights of migratory birds are a barometer to detect fragile environments, and the changes in their flight paths indicate the environments. The flocks of birds not only migrate towards warmer and more abundant aquatic creatures for food and sustenance.

Sitikantha is an environmentally conscious artist who has explored his identity and ancestry with agrarian connections. His ability to juggle different mediums of site-specific works and installations using local materials emphasizes his context. His use of local artisanal skills like palm leaf paintings and the incorporation of materials like paper pulp has added another dimension to his works. The artist creates visions of dystopia, with the threat to migratory birds and ecosystems threatened by human greed and urban interventions. He depicts the state of the local fisherman community and the collapse and recovery of the lagoon ecosystem, and the artist has articulated his visual response to restore the delicate balance of this ecosystem.