Hocus Pocus, inspired by central Delhi’s historic Jantar Mantar Observatory, will combine the building’s unique physical and symbolic features in a response to the aggressive tensions of the changing
urban environment.
Constructed between 1724 and 1727 by the far-sighted Maharaja Jai Singh II, the Jantar Mantar is an accomplished mathematical structure, inimitable in function and design that enabled fine measurements and calculations and was used to accurately predict eclipses and other astronomical events. Today a ‘protected’ monument, the Jantar Mantar is surrounded by a high-rise skyline and a ceaseless flow of traffic on all sides.
Hocus Pocus raises the fundamental question of whether the monument is actually functional, since modern tall buildings have completely occluded the horizon, and since the stars and other astronomical entities needed for triangulation are immured in a toxic shroud of smog.
Using the monument’s Ram Yantras as a basic grid, the installation will offer two circular structures, one closed and the other unfolding / open, that reveal the immaculate architectural geometry through natural and artificial lighting. Coated to directly reflect, Hocus will embrace the heat, while Pocus will free the energy.
Situated at The Ramlila Maidan, one of the largest open spaces used for collective socio-cultural activities for the citizens of Delhi, today positioned at the critical interface of the old Walled City of Shahjahanabad and the new developments of the globally aspiring capital city.
Hocus Pocus toys with ideas of what the contemporary purpose of the monument is, whether it is to remind us of the role of passing vehicles in global warming or, despite the city’s corrosive ecology, it is somehow still a pristine Mitradham – ‘ Abode of Sun | House of Friends’.