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Disembodied facilitates space for expressive responses to the fissure between Humanity and Environment. In this interactive installation, Audience is invited to transform into Collaborator when stepping in front of a camera and guided through improvisational performances that literally and figuratively reunite body and earth.

Following the event, a selection of photographs were hand-processed as Ziatypes with a layer of gum bichromate; except rather than using commercially available pigment, the images were colorized with a layer of soil that was collected for a follow-up installation at Bonerpukurdanga.

দেহমুক্তি বা বিদেহী অবস্থান কখনো কোনো প্রকাশভঙ্গিমাকে সহজতর করে প্রকাশ করে যখন মানবতা ও প্রকৃতির মধ্যে একটা ফাটল ধরেছে আর এটাই এখনকার আধুনিক জীবনের অসংলগ্ন বিচ্ছিন্নতা। আদান প্রদানের ভাবনা নিয়েই এই ইনস্টলেশন আর এভাবে দর্শক বা শ্রোতাকে এখানে এই কর্মপ্রক্রিয়ার মধ্যে ডেকে এনে বদলে নেওয়া হয় একজন সহযোগী হিসেবে যখন সে ক্যামেরার সামনে এসে দাঁড়ায় সে নিজেকে বদলে নেয় একজন তাৎক্ষণিক উপস্থাপনকারী শিল্পী হিসেবে। আক্ষরিকভাবে এবং আঙ্গিকভাবেও ওই মানুষ দেহ ও প্রকৃতির বা মাটির সঙ্গে যুক্ত হয়ে পড়ে।
Translated by Sudipta Sanyal

Site-specific installation at Bonerpukurdanga (roughly translates as ‘land of forest and pond’), Shantiniketan, WB, India. Curated by Taufik Riaz of Pi (Performers independent) and Rajeevan Ramachandran of HAI (Hidden Artist Initiative.)

A series of soil chromotographs were displayed near the handmade Disembodied photographs. This process uses soil (here, collected from the exhibition site) to create light-sensitive emulsions that describe the mineral content of the land. They are a type of scientific fingerprint common in the agricultural industry to monitor the fertility of soils, fertilizers and compost.


Bonerpukurdanga is located within an alluvial plain where the topsoil primarily consists of sand, pebbles and other sediment deposited by rivers which would have, at one time, flowed through this sparse forest managed by the Birbhum Forest Division (established in 1954). Their district officer was unable to confirm the year this intentional forest was planted.

Living at the fringes of the forest are over 100 Adavasi families of the scheduled Santhal tribe. Despite having resided on this land for generations (primarily in decomposable mud houses), many have no official documentation to establish land ownership rights. Other members of the larger community include artists, musicians and craftsmen. This community lives in close harmony with nature.

Lines are strung between the trees for drying laundry. This inspired the installation of a fabric wall within the landscape that let air and light pass through/around the artwork. The initial concept envisioned an eighty foot long tunnel of fabric weaving between sonajhuri trees, however the spring winds were so strong that the only way to keep the fabric up for a multi-day event would be to install an extensive bamboo structure or hammer nails into the trunks of trees; both of which would have been detrimental to the natural landscape and thus, the plan shifted for minimal environmental impact.

Performance image of Taufik Riaz of Pi (Performers independent).

Initiated at the 3rd International Art Fair (2023) organized by Papilio Painters. In collaboration with Pi (Performers independent) and in celebration of KIPAF: a decade (Kolkata International Performance Art Festival).

During the original gallery installation of Disembodied, filming took place alongside the still photography during audience performances. Special invitations to collaborate were extended to the following artists:


The following is a culmination of performances and interactions by invited artists and the general public. It is intended to play on a video loop as a supporting element within a formal exhibition space.