‘This is theft, erasure’: Poet Aamir Aziz accuses Anita Dube of using his work without consent

Poet Aamir Aziz on Sunday accused artist Anita Dube of using one of his poems without consent on works displayed at a recent exhibition in Delhi.

“My poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega has been used without my knowledge, consent, credit or compensation by the internationally celebrated artist Anita Dube,” Aziz alleged on social media.

Aziz said he was informed on March 18 that phrases from the poem had been “stitched into a work on display” by Dube in her exhibition, which was titled Timanjala Ghar, or “Three-storyed Home”, at Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi.

Aziz first shared the poem on his YouTube channel in January 2020 amid the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests.

In a post on Instagram, Aziz identified four pieces in which his poem was used. The artworks are abstract pieces made with fabric, wood and paint. The gallery said they had been withdrawn from sale until the matter is resolved.

In a statement shared with Scroll on Monday, Dube said she hoped to “resolve this issue in a fair manner”.

“I am replying to this social media trial initiated by Aamir Aziz with sadness,” Dube’s statement read. “I have been in love with Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, especially some lines which swirled around in my head like dervishes… The intent of quoting words from Aamir Aziz’s poem was to celebrate them.”

Dube added: “I...

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