If you drop by the Park Hyatt Chennai this week, you might stumble across Seema Kohli’s pieces of art. The Delhi-based artist who is headed for Venice for 56th Biennale in Venice between May 7 to November 22 this year, tells us that the collection for this one will be a little different, From experiental videos on death and genesis to canvasses flaunting tea stains — it’s easy to figure why Seema has the privilege of being the only Indian on the list for this international showcase.
“To be selected from India and for my art work to be exhibited there is a privilege and a cherished dream. I just applied with whatever I had and the organisers were happy and took my work in,” says Seema Kohli, who was a part of the Biennale last year as well. In fact, she had won the prestigious Gold award in the Biennale held at Florence, in 2009.
This year, her entries are two experiential videos and two pieces of art. One of the videos called Unending Dance of Light was shot in Benares – the city of light. Seema says that there was no performance that she had shot there, but an experience, where she herself was a part of the space. The video is centred on how death and genesis are fundamental facts of existence and death is not an ultimate end in itself.
“The video is all about rejuvenation and my understanding about death being just a revival of all elements and the energy is never lost, but transformed in a different direction,” she explains of the collection presented by Gallery Veda. Seema’s other video, Swayamsiddha is an abstract representation of the womb, through a circular natural rocks and the video is about procreation and the cosmic womb – Hiranyagarba, which revives cosmic order. Storm in My Tea Cup, one of her pieces of art, which was made using tea stains on paper, represents the churning of the divine ocean from which invaluable things like the divine portion – Amruth — came out in the battle between the Devas and Asuras. The other piece of art – the golden womb, speaks about procreation. Besides her work gaining international recognition, Seema also stated that Chennai is an interesting space for art, with an ever growing gallery of horizons.