A conversation on how the object of the punkah fan speaks to histories of both subjugation and liberation, and how we might relate such narratives to contemporary climate injustice.

Popular in the American South during the 19th century, the punkah is a type of fan suspended from the ceiling, the motion of which was manually generated by a human operator—their labor visible in some contexts, deliberately concealed in others. Despite the questions this object raises about the separation of labor from the environment it serves, the punkah is often presented a decorative object in museum contexts. Aaron Richmond for Temporary continent. spoke to Field Station 5 contributor and artist Montana Torrey about how the punkah speaks to histories of both subjugation and liberation, and how we might relate such narratives to contemporary climate injustice.