Parag Tandel's 'Salted Caviar' at TARQ Mumbai Examines Koli Fishing Heritage and Environmental Threats

Key facts

• Parag Tandel's solo exhibition 'Salted Caviar' is on view at TARQ in Mumbai from September 10 to October 17, 2026.
• The exhibition features four new bodies of work: 'Salt Shrines', 'Ancestors', 'Vitamin-Sea Archives: Sediments of Intelligence', 'Worli Koliwada', and 'Estuaries of Waning Sounds: Koli Dictionary Project'.
• Tandel draws on his Koli heritage to examine how coastal development and emerging technologies threaten traditional fishing communities.
• The 'Salt Shrines' series is inspired by Koli votive traditions and the Bharali Puja ceremony, held annually around the full moon in October.
• The 'Ancestors' series uses Habur stone from Jaisalmer, a fossil-rich material formed in an ancient seabed, to cast oil pipes alongside marine life-forms.
• The 'Vitamin-Sea Archives' series uses cyanotype to create speculative maps of the ocean floor, addressing seawater desalination for data centers and AI infrastructure.
• The 'Worli Koliwada' series incorporates oral histories, archaeological records, and illustrated recipes from Tandel's mother, Kamal Tandel.
• The 'Estuaries of Waning Sounds: Koli Dictionary Project' translates Koli vocabulary into sculptural forms using fishing nets, shells, knots, and found objects.