Two outstanding pieces, both extensions of ongoing series, were displayed at Anand Warehouse. Kulpreet Singh’s breathtaking single-channel video Indelible Black Marks (2022–24)—for me the most memorable work in the biennale—brilliantly chronicles the dissonances of the agrarian practice of stubble burning in the artist’s home state of Punjab. 

The sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is curated by artist Nikhil Chopra in collaboration with HH Art Spaces, an artist-led organisation based in Goa. Chopra’s background in performative practice is palpable throughout the exhibition: many works invite viewers to step in, linger, and become participants rather than passive spectators.

Major showings such as the KMB often throw up new talent decisively. Two artists who stand out in the large spectrum includeKulpreet Singh, whose film Indelible Black Marks reflects on the vexed problem of stubble burning and the existential questions that itposes to the Indian farmer. 

In an enclosure with straw-covered walls, in a room at Anand Warehouse in Fort Kochi, a video is playing. Open fields are on fire, and as the golden yellow stubble burns, the ground turns coal black. A group of men – artist Kulpreet Singh and his team – run across the smouldering land, dragging sheets of canvas. As sounds of industrial activity are heard in the background and ash forms dense patterns on the fabric, Kulpreet sets the cloth on fire.

A collage of 300 images depicting different animals, fungi and plant species leaves you mesmerized at Sunaparanta Goa Centre forthe Arts, Panaji. At first glance, the work appears to celebrate biodiversity, but closer inspection reveals a disturbing reality. Each ofthe listed species is threatened by extinction, as identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. Amajor clue behind this extinction lies in the process of creating this artwork -- paper treated with pesticide. Created by Kulpreet Singh,a Patiala-based artist, the work belongs to his “Extinction Archive” series that demonstrates the consequences of pesticide-laden,chemical-intensive agriculture on living species, which in turn hampers our food security and food sovereignty.

From a farm studio in Patiala, Kulpreet Singh is creating artworks where farmer protests, climate justice, species extinction, and ash from funeral pyres drive the narrative

AN ARTIST is a sensitive person… If a sensitive person doesn’t feel, who will?” asks Kulpreet Singh, a Patiala-based visual artist, whose series, Indelible Black Marks, highlights the effects of the stubble burning practice in the farmlands of Punjab. Singh’s series conceptually reflects on the permanent black marks carved onto our ecosystem through practices farmers have been forced to take up. He dragged massive canvases through the burning fields in his homeland, allowing the stubble to leave impressions like scars on the earth. The series was also showcased at the JSW Earth Care Awards 2025 in Mumbai.

Mumbai: Eniveronment friendly initiatives that have sustained the livelihood of lakhs of people earned corporate giant ITC ltd the Green Business Titan honour at the 12th edition of the JSW - The Times of India Earth Care Awards at Tata Theatre, NCPA, on Wednesday.

On display at Mumbai's Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke from 12th of November to 27th of December last year was Patiala-based interdisciplinary artist Kulpreet Singh's first major solo exhibition titled Indelible Black Marks (syab kale dag).

These burning fields provided fodder for Kulpreet Singh’s compelling exhibition “Indelible Black Marks.” As the son of a farmer from Punjab, Singh is keenly aware of the perilous plight of those who work the land. They resort to torching the crop residue because they can’t afford other means to dispose of it. Central to the exhibition was the evocative eight-and-a-half-minute video Indelible Black Marks (all works 2022–24), which depicts stubble being set ablaze and brown fields turning coal black. 

FOSSILS OF FORCE featuring Kulpreet Singh

What to see: Drawing on his experiences from the 2020-2021 farmers’ movement, Kulpreet uses the iconography of nails and barricades to depict the systemic pressures faced by farmers, while simultaneously honouring those who lost their lives and celebrating the spirit of communal feeding through langar. The show’s curatorial advisor is Birgid Uccia.

While Indian artists are active globally, there were also exhibitions that gave a sense of the rise of young artists. Particularly impressive was the exhibition " Indelible Black Marks " by Kulpreet Singh. Based in Patiala, Punjab, northern India, Singh majored in printmaking at university and in recent years has been presenting works on the complex issues surrounding agriculture, the state's main industry.

A new generation of artists is countering exploitative models of agriculture and creating works of art that embody care for the land and justice for farmers.

Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke in Ballard Estate showcased the second in a series of exhibitions featuring Punjab artist Kulpreet Singh. Singh's practice delves into land histories and environmental art, emphasising the precarious realities of farmers in his home state.