The artist with his artwork.

Excerpt from Kamala Kapoor, Vivan Sundaram: Shelter 1994-99, publisher unknown, 1999:

'The work started as debris resurrected. […] Incomplete habitation, a framework and support for the fragile/phallic black boat. The fit at many levels was perfect, the skeleton let in the air everywhere, the house had no walls, only the sea. A found object, a discarded rotten boat — I ripped it further apart, leaving its spine, which was a tree-trunk, and some of the ribs. The very strong expressionist lines, the linear quality of the work make it look like a drawing. The jagged lines have similarities to some of my charcoal and engine oil works. […] The calabash, bottles, driftwood that make up the skeleton on the sand floor are a bit literal, but I felt the sand floor needed an image and form. I was not expecting the organizers to carry this load to its second location: the National Gallery of Modern Art at Port of Spain. If I was thrilled at my site at Grande Riviere, then you can imagine what Black Boat felt when it met 'Black Anchor' (a ready-made: a real object placed in the courtyard as museum showpiece). The marriage was instant: BB struck a bull’s eye in BA. A detail not seen in the photograph: the sharpened end of the prow of the boat found a hole to fit at the top of the anchor. On the journey, bits of the ribcage fell off. With the stone floor and the work anchored, the literal skeleton has no role to play, and so it was junked: 'less is more'!' (Vivan Sundaram in a written exchange with Kamala Kapoor)

Exhibition history: 'Shelter: Sculpture 1994-1999,' Nature Morte, New Delhi; 1999; Sakshi Gallery, Bombay; 2000, Illustrated catalogue. Conceived in 'Big River,' International Artists Workshop, Caribbean Contemporary Arts, National Museum & Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad; 1999, Illustrated catalogue.