We live in an era where rights no longer belong to men, women, kings or labour unions, but rather to those who lie at the intersection of these social axes. In others words, the world is largely being viewed as a culmination of all the things that comprise it rather than a synthesis between them. God knows, if Marx read this, he'd probably unfriend us on Facebook, but then again, perhaps we'd never even be friends. The point is, it would be naive to look at art as something that is dissociated from history and politics.

Exploring this confluence of disciplines is Mumbai-based artist and set designer Viraag Desai, originally from Kolkata. Currently, Desai is working on a series at the ongoing Piramal Art Residency, titled Re-imagining Mumbai. In its 16th cycle, the residency has invited artists to — like the name suggests — re-imagine the city. And for Desai, an idea which germinated within the cold walls of his studio in a crumbling Parsi-owned building in Parel, has taken an adventurous course at the residency.