BENGALURU: History is not just the process of recording events of the past, it is often integral in the project of creating perceptions by interpreting documents recovered from the past. And as times change, history can be rewritten to suit the political narratives of the present.
The Dancing Girl of Mohenjodaro, an artefact often held up as the earliest evidence of dance in ‘Indian’ culture, can be seen as one such contentious figure. The performance, Hallucinations of an Artefact, in collaboration with Sandbox Collective, is being showcased from January 1 to 3 at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur, in an attempt to engage directly with the historical artefact.
According to choreographer Mandeep Raikhy, who took four years to create this contemporary piece, this performance was personally important for him due to the current political climate. “When I started looking a little bit more into the history of this artefact, I became interested in how artefacts become co-opted by the narratives of those who view the artefacts, and how they are nothing but interpretations of people. This realisation, especially given the political scenario that are in, where anything is being given an imagined ancient Hindu history, I felt like it was an important piece to make for myself, to see whether we could relook at our artefacts and recognise that we are playing up our own stories through them.”
In recent years, the artefact has become surrounded by many controversies regarding her past and identity. Earlier this year, she was co-opted as a pink-skinned mascot wrapped in a pink blouse and white waistcoat during the inauguration of the International Museum Expo. In 2016, a paper published in the Indian Council of Historical Research proposed that the figurine was a representation of the Hindu Goddess Parvati. Showcasing the performance for the first time in the city, Raikhy hopes to start a discussion on history writing. “I would be horrified if there was only one thing that people took away from the work. What would be interesting is for the audience to engage with this artefact in new ways. I hope it opens doors for us to have new discussions around what is our cultural history.”
Raikhy not only brings the Dancing Girl to life through the performance but uniquely incorporates artificial intelligence to allow the Dancing Girl to learn movement from the dancers as she becomes a moving collaborator. “As the work is centred around the idea of bringing the dancing girl to life, my long-term collaborator, Jonathan O’Hear and I were thinking about the ways in which the artefact could be brought to life. Since we are also looking at history as having been constructed by mostly people in power who can afford to write history, we thought that artificial intelligence is a good way to create this imagined reality,” says Raikhy.