Shifting Landscapes

Shifting Landscapes: Reppandee Lepcha Weaves the Disappearing Language of the Rong People

Artist

Reppandee Lepcha (Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan)

Medium

Paper pulp, Rice paper, Hemp wool, Pugo reep (Oroxylum indicum)

Venue

Vallabhdas Kanji Limited (VKL) Warehouse, Mattancherry, Fort Kochi, Kerala

Timings

10AM to 6PM (Mon to Sunday)

Till March 31st, 2026

About

Shifting Landscapes explores the tension between continuity and erasure. The work focuses on the diminishing language and culture of the Rong (Lepcha people) and the deeper loss of their living relationship with land and nature.

From historical displacement to environmental destruction, the community has been pushed into ever-shrinking margins. Now the land itself slips away—echoing the erosion of words, traces, and relationships it once held.

Weaving serves as the skeleton holding everything together. Traditional patterns gather fragmented parts, stitching them into provisional wholes. Scripts written with words once commonly heard are set against the dominance of other languages—highlighting linguistic disappearance while voicing urgent realities.

Kochi Biennale 2025