To best describe performance art, revisit Yoko Ono’s words, “I thought art was a verb, rather than a noun.” This art is presented live or through a medium, and often challenges or provokes the audience, developing a strong relationship between the audience and the performer. Building on the same concept, four performance artists are set to bring personal-political narratives at the India Art Fair Grounds in NSIC Okhla.
Power of the masses
In performing Nobody is Born Wise, artist Jelili Atiku adopts the collective energy of the audience as the philosophy of deep intellectual, strong physical and spiritual strength. It consists of the ritual of playful actions of rubbing of yellow colour on a wooden box-like sculpture of Ganesha and elephant. “In the duration of this performance, the audience will continuously collaborate with me to construct and destruct my and building of the ethereal and ephemeral architectural structure in the space.
The actions may appear mundane but they are spiritually connected to actions of sanctifying objects and thus connect to the therapeutic self-cleansing and energising.”
On: January 31-February 2; 2pm-6pm
Strength of a woman
Maya Krishna Rao's Loose Woman will witness the diverse travels of a woman through life. Using different mediums like theatre, sound, and camera, you can view situations that push, pull and stretch her skin. The National Award winning theatre artist is also a Kathakali dancer so the performance sets high hopes.
On: January 31; 2.30pm — 3.15pm
Raisa Kabir's performance
Nil. Nargis. Blue. Bring in the Tide With Your Moon is about mothers, and personal vs collective emotional languages of trauma. Here the artist will dye linen and jute in natural indigo, native to India. Kabir makes references to the historical connections between India and Scotland, her present home. Her performance will highlight global anxieties around neo-colonial textile production and nationhood. Recently, she brought the performance in Scotland. "The Scottish performance took place on a full moon on August 15. I had a ritual in the sea. People present on the beach with me were moved by this performance, where I weave with the sea and wear my mother's sari. The piece is partly named and dedicated to my father's sister, who passed away just before the performance," Kabir informs.
On: January 31; 2.30pm — 3.15pm
At: Auditorium, IAF, NSIC Ohkla,
A math problem
Baroda-based multidisciplinary artist Piyali Ghosh's performance Naksha, An Untold Odyssey uses drawing-installation. It focuses on the concept of deconstruction and reconstruction through body movements. For the performance, the artist is influenced by chakravyuha, the mathematical design of the military formation, which finds a mention in the ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata.
On: February 2; 11:30am — 12:00pm