Participating Artists:

Takahito Kimura (Japan)
Takehito Koganezawa (Japan)
Juul Kraijer (Amsterdam)
Surekha (India)

The title and the theme of concept note for the curation ‘Inner Vision’ evolved from the video work titled ‘Inner Eye’ by Juul Kraijer. In the video, the all encompassing divine presence of Nature alternates with a tight close up of girl’s right eye, which blinks and moves the eye ball in various directions, to alternate with the scenes from nature. The camera however remains fixed in frame for the close up shot of the eye suggesting the person, as if in captivity. The video in totality expresses a deep desire for enormous open spaces of Nature–sky, water, trees in extreme details, liberating the ‘body in captivity’. At times juxtaposed with the captive eye the shots of open spaces come forth as ‘thoughts’. Or they appear to be the memory of journeys which supply life to the wandering mind!

While interacting with Juul, it came as a clear thought that her observations keenly specify a human mind’s longing for closeness for Nature in the time of high urbanization. Here the theme may be somewhat distinct from the issue based works on contemporary urban environment and ecology. She also prefers to focus upon an Indian eye of her own student. This was also the point where the distinction between the two became clear for the theme of curation. The theme got extended in different ways in the video works and canvases of the participating artists.

Most of the works interpret a journey of the individual based in urban environment and the presence of a still camera resulting in a conscious choice of the frame. The artists who have not used the camera, bring about a relationship between the material and the body and explore new methods of image making. The following text is an attempt to explain in brief about each artist’s work, how each one’s journey is individualistic and yet procure a commonality of experiences.

In the works of Takahito Kimura light plays a central role. He observes that sun-light makes a shape of star when made to pass through small circular or square openings or irregular shapes between the tree leaves. His attempt suggests that the sun which is a sphere can also be seen as a star. In the present video (from ‘playing with the Earth’ series) he makes the light pass through his body flexions. The fixed camera shows him slipping behind the white screen hung on the window frame, against the day light. A faint image of the city (Mumbai) turned upside down gradually appears on this space of the flexed body where the light oozes from.

The experience of watching the above imagery transform is so subtle and gradual that it becomes difficult to distinctly say even if the imagery is black and white or color. Eventually the imagery makes a sublime impression rather than a pure attempt towards meaning orientation.

“ I propose new ways for human beings to connect or deal with the natural energy in a situation where “playing with Earth” is no longer commonly found, a situation that occurs as contemporary science is transformed into symbolic signs and becomes more difficult for us to understand.” Takahito Kimura

Like wise Takehito Koganezawa is also present in his video. The video shows him taking the paper objects shot from the opposite side on his tennis-bat which fall on the floor. He actually shows the fallen objects on the floor, on the real ground-space below the projection. In the process the body is shown in an enclosed space engaging in repeated, fast, non uniform, and may be meaningless action. His recent body of video work done in India confers to the theme of speed, and is shot in Delhi.

In Binu Bhaskar’s work about ‘How slow we are today?’ he shoots himself taking bath and washing his clothes in an enclosed white space -bathroom. The process of shooting is with a camera fixed on a place which shows the real time of the whole process along with the complete reflection on the mirror placed on the opposite wall.

Here it may seem that there is no connection between the process of video making and the works displayed on the wall. A closer observation reveals repetitive action which is part of almost all the videos and is also a process of works which stay still on the walls.

Before describing the works of Simrin Mehra, Rakhi Peswani and Lavanya Mani who work without camera and discover their own ways to explore new mediums, I would like to bring observations on Surekha’s video works.

Surekha made this video-work while she was away in Sri Lanka for a residency program. In April 2006 she was in Colombo for two weeks for Theertha workshop. From Colombo the artists were taken to Candy, the main centre for Buddhist practice and well known for the Buddha’s tooth relic as well.

She stayed in Hanthana hill, a wild and intriguing landscape engrossing the tea estates. She could come down to the busy Candy township, down the hill, that was about five kilometers and busy with the tourists, round the year. She was spell bound to see a variety of Buddha imagery on the streets, in each and every house, gully, every town, village and street. Buddha has been collected as an icon, as mementos and as museum pieces, from these places. Buddha seemed to come handy for any and every purpose in Sri Lanka.

Surekha had observed the irony that in reality, the country had to everyday live with death and violence. She mentions that the excess of Buddha’s imagery at Sri Lanka seemed to paradoxically compensate the factual violence within itself! As there were innumerable Buddha shops, covering Buddha in plastic sheets, being sold, being bought and being preserved, constantly one can say that he had become THE commodity!

“This is the background within which the video work emerged from. I sat-still in a street of the busy Candy town and also on the top of the hill near tea estates (under rain and thunder). The video was shot for about 20 mins and was edited later on. I sat in the posture which reminds of Gandhi’s posture and wearing a white cloth (a sort of resembling the statues of Buddha all around). In the video you see the performer sitting still but the people around move backwards.”-Surekha

Lavanya Mani has been experimenting with Kalamkari method mixed with embroidery on the surface of cloth. Her forms emerge from the details of history and materials of the technique she uses to build up the image. Thus the imagery informs the onlooker about various species of plants and flowers etc which are used to make the color and technique of the painting. Secondly it also juxtaposes these forms with objects like sewing machine to suggest the layers involved in the process. This method is a long and slow process and gives the painting a unique and bare look.

Rakhi Peswani effectively uses needles, thread work, mirrors, textures and colors for her image- making (on cloth surface) which results into a fine illusion of drawn sketchy pencil lines at times. Her medium also includes exercises with sketches in pencil with organic material like dried petals and leaves of plants. She also makes Installations with soft sculptures; many of these are inspired by Louise Bourgeoisie. In the present display ‘Desert Flower’, she has made an installation which she relates to the eminent Indian artist Anita Dube’s concept of work.

Simrin Mehra Agarwal’s canvases are a result of finding a parallel between biomorphic forms and built environment or urban architectural spaces. By exploring the relationship between the urban and the biomorphic she shows the complexities, similarities and disparities within the urban and the biomorphic one being straight lined, and the other curvilinear. The challenge to weave the geometric form of the urban into the fabric of biomorphic is also what she explores.

Simrin shows intricate, magnified circuitry, x-rayed visions, various labyrinths, complicated patterns, framework and structures within a simple form. By juxtaposing various images like cross-sections of plant, animals and other unusual organic and natural forms, with cutting edge design, futuristic buildings, animated structures, machinery, vehicles, aerial maps, architectural constructions, plans, layouts, blue prints, and technical drawings of complex interiors, she strives to create a union between what has emerged from nature and that which human being has created to form a design. The quintessential element of her work is drawing. She uses the linear graphic as well the painterly with equal significance in her paintings.

Slowness:

What is interesting to observe in the works of participating video artists is that they have taken a definite interest in portraying themselves before the camera. This brings together the relationship between the body and the surrounding environment and simultaneously brings about a philosophical message of ‘slowness’ as contrary to the hectic, chaotic, speeded and the mechanical urban. This idea seems to be integral also in the works of artists who have not used the camera but evolved their methods thoughtfully by employing stitching and embroidery over cloth suggesting a slow and repetitive build up of the action.

An inner vision about the slow and sublime occurs as a part of the process of work. This makes the form and structure of the work processes inculcated with an archaic and abstract quality of time. Thus time which may not be seen or measured becomes an inevitable part of the images in context.