Anita Dube was chatting with some artists in Kuala Lumpur recently when one of them asked her, “Have you heard of Pangrok Sulap?” The curator of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale shook her head. She was then shown a video where a collective of artists in their 20s, staying in the state of Sabah in Malaysia, put together a unique art form. First, they carved words and images in reverse onto a wooden board. Then they put rolling ink on it, followed by placing cloth or paper and dancing on it. The group finally pulled away the paper or cloth to reveal a beautiful illustration. “It was fantastic.
I got so excited [seeing it],” says Dube.
Not surprisingly, Pangrok Sulap have been invited to participate in the fourth edition of the Biennale at Kochi (December 12-March 29, 2019). More than 100 artists will take part, from countries as diverse as Lebanon, Japan, Vietnam, Cuba, South Africa, French Guyana, Poland, Spain and Israel. The event, however, has avoided the power centres of the West, such as the UK, USA, and Europe. “I wanted to give a chance to those who are on the margins of international art,” Dube shares.
And as the first woman curator, it is no surprise that more than half the artists will also be women. “They don’t get as many opportunities as the men. So, I wanted to correct that,” she quips. The theme is Possibilities of a Non-Alienated Life. Dube arrived on it after prolonged thinking,“The first question I asked myself was who is my primary audience? Is it the one percent that goes to Venice, Sharjah and the Kochi Biennales? Or is it the six lakh spectators who came to the last edition with no stake in culture except for a thirst for aesthetic knowledge?”
Dube realised that she needed to showcase accessible artwork for the majority. But this year’s Biennale will also see visitors becoming participants. Apart from the exhibition area, Dube is setting up a pavilion where anybody can come and speak, show a film clip, or have a discussion. “You could even sing a Malayalam song. I am hoping conversations could develop, and arguments could be had,” adds the 60-year-old curator.
Since April 2017, Dube has been continuously travelling to different countries. “I have met
so many interesting artists, and I’ve had enlightening conversations with them. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she shares. Dube believes these encounters will change her art in some way. “I will have to re-evaluate my work. If you are a writer and you read a great novel, then you know where you stand.”
On the trends in international art these days, she says, “There are so many more forms such as performance art and installation art. But perhaps the hottest trend right now is social practice. The artists are active as social beings like Pangrok is.” Meanwhile, Dube’s profession as an artist or curator was not preordained. She grew up in Lucknow and was one of four children of a doctor couple. In fact, her father, Dr PC Dube, was well known as the Head of the Department of Surgery in King George’s Medical University in Uttar Pradesh. Both her parents ran a 10-bed nursing home.
While art didn’t run in her family, Dube felt its stirrings within her. After completing a master’s degree in History from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, she went on to study Art History at MS University, Baroda. “I started to visit art exhibitions while I was in college. I wrote poetry as well. But when I touched clay and wood, I knew that I had found my destiny,” shares the artist who made her mark through sculpture, photography, video and installation art.
Is Dube nervous about how people would react to her selections for this year’s Biennale? “I can only do what I can do. And I think I have done my best. You cannot please everybody. There will be some people who might not like my choices, but I don’t mind at all,” she answers with confidence.