Art is a form of expression to present our innermost desires, dreams, aspirations. It is also a means to speak about issues and personal traumas, as well as a medium to celebrate life itself.
Reflecting on such emotions with the help of media, right from paintings to images to installations and performance arts, is the latest exhibition titled, ‘Echoes’ which will open on May 26, 2023 at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Panjim.
EXPLORING NEW IDEAS
‘Echoes’ is an exhibition of works from the third edition of the Goa Open Arts Catalyst and Engage artist grants. The grant was instituted in 2020 as a means to support the continuing creativity and production by artists during a challenging post-pandemic period.
Goa Open Arts has partnered with Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Panjim, to exhibit the grantee’s work and to create a public engagement program to expand the opportunities to interact with the artists and their ideas.
The exhibition, brings together the diverse practices of artists Manashri Pai Dukle, Pratik Naik, Purvai Aranya, Subhash Sajja, Venkatesh Pai and the young artist participants of the UnSchool Goa Project, led by Hafsa Bukhary and Rashmi Baruah.
“The exhibition shows very varied works by our grantee artists. Some have worked on personal family archives and histories; others have explored societal norms and the pressures of conformity and success. Others are focusing more on experimenting with different media. We have also supported UnSchool Goa, which is our community art grantee this year. They have engaged children from Parra and Arpora in various art education activities as a way to explore different modes of understanding the self. Each artist works on their own project and idea,” says Sitara Chowfla, spokesperson of Goa Open Arts.
The artists were selected through the open call for the Catalyst Art Grant. The Goa Open Arts team collectively selects the grantees. “We are looking to support artists who are experimenting with new ideas, or who may need our support to push forward an idea or concept that they have been exploring. We are also looking for artists who will benefit from the opportunity of mentorship and from exhibiting their work to the public. We look at a wide variety of media – including technology, new media, performance, etc,” adds Chowfla.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Manashri Pai Dukle and Purvai Aranya’s works explore the echoing effects of familial customs, stories, traditions and traumas. Dukle embarks on an intimate research project that traces ritualistic practices and customary belief systems that are typically thrust upon women and often end up as a dominant narrative in their lives.
Looking at archives, personal photographs and other forms of intimate documentation, Dukle unpacks the significance of motherhood and marriage in her family archives.
For graphic artist and writer Purvai Aranya, the Catalyst Grant was an opportunity to revisit and reinvent ‘Waterlog’, a half-completed graphic novel centered around narratives of trauma and coming to terms with the untimely death of a grandparent.
The space of the exhibition allow’s Aranya to take the story off the pages, and create an immersive multimedia and multi-sensory installation – reflecting the all-encompassing emotional journey of overcoming grief and loss.
Pratik Naik, a young artist from Goa, is fascinated by the endless possibilities of virtual spaces and digital animation. Expressed through a complex assembly of digital renders, animation and mixed-media ‘A Quandary Situation’, is a installation that reflects upon the seemingly endless feedback loops, created by the echo effect of societal constructs.
New media is also the primary area of exploration of composer and modular synth musician Subhash Sajja. ‘The Oscillation Orchestra’ is composed and recorded by Sajja. But, this time, you, the audience, are in the conductor's seat. The idea was to create a piece of music that’s composed and written by the artist, yet collaboratively generated or manipulated by the computer, and which can also be controlled and played back by the listener.
Through his images and other worldly imagination, Venkatesh Pai lends an air of humour and lightness to the exhibition.
By eliminating ‘The seriousness of looking’, he becomes playful with the viewer’s perception. He organises the cacophony in his landscapes, where incoherence becomes coherent. His work brings together a series of drawings, paintings, soft sculptures and video.
WHAT’S ON OFFER
The exhibition will open on May 26, 2023 at 6 pm at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim. It will be followed by an opening performance,
‘Oscillation Orchestra’— a live modular synthesiser performance by Subhash Sajja, accompanied by visuals from Binkit Rao and movement by Akanksha Dev. There will also be poetry by Priyal Woodpecker.
On May 31, 2023 at 7 pm, there will be a conversation between Manashri Pai Dukle, Purvai Aranya, and Venkatesh Pai.
On June 3, 2023 at 3.30 pm, there will be a zine workshop by Purvai Aranya and map making workshop for children by Hafsa Bukhary followed by an interactive presentation by Subhash Sajja at 7 pm.
On June 10, 2023 at 2.30 pm, there will be knit/stich workshop with Venkatesh Pai and at 7 pm, an interactive presentation by Pratik Naik on 'Art in the time of Technology'.
The exhibition will remain open till June 10, 2023.
