I A M H E R E

CURATION AND TEXT

CATALOGUE DESIGN

Mohan Kumar T

Lina Vincent Sunish

Images artists and/or representative galleries. All images are stills of respective videos.C

I A M H E R E

AN EXPERIMENT IN CURATION

Lina Vincent Sunish

S Srinivasa Prasad Surekha

Diego Caglioni Kiran Subbaiah Rudina Hoxhaj Jihye Park Abhishek Hazra Venugopal V.G

Mahbubur Rahman Murali Cheeroth Tayeba Begum Lipi Clémence b.t.d. Barret for Jaaga Juice Collective

abrina Osborne Sonia Khurana Baptist Coelho

WITH

ABOUT

The structure and nature of the Self has been the subject of centuries of analysis in

varied streams of human knowledge. Whether in terms of the separate entities of mind, body, and spirit, or a sublime unity of the three, debate and uncertainty still

surround the theories. I am Here approaches the study by constructing a tunnel of understanding through the familiar area of self portraiture, and employs the processes of representation as a means of uncovering more complex ideas of the Self.

The self portrait has a lengthy history in the visual arts. The notion of artists treating themselves as subjects is an interesting one, and throws up a plethora of thoughts in terms of interpretation, particularly on the part of those who are looking. By making

individual selves the centre of the study, I am Here is not turning away from important and inherently more discussed worldly concerns but rather aiming to investigate the larger picture within, and in relation to the individual self. The self here, defines, directs and demonstrates the factors that shape its existence.

The artists have brought their personal perspectives to the discussion, and the result is an intriguing layering of concepts - some refer to altering hierarchies within the corporeal, the cognitive, and conscious states; others communicate abstract impressions. The grids that exist between reality and fantasy, performance and documentation, objectivity and subjectivity, action and passivity are negotiated, stories are told and memories are resurrected. The individuals in the show are diverse in every sense – one of the reasons they have been brought together is the concept of mapping contrasts and relationships underlying aspects of place, race, gender, culture, education, religion and other forms of human categorization, and the situations and states of mind they generate in an individual. Another reason that these artists are together is because they have all worked with the moving image. The commonality ends there, as each one has manipulated and experimented with the aesthetics and form of the medium in a different way. The three groupings 'Body: Instrument', 'Mission Identity' and 'Voicing the Collective' examine broad connections between the works. However, the divisions are porous and the overlapping of contexts is intended and expected; viewers are encouraged to weave their own experiences within the content of the exhibition.

I am Here is an attempt to investigate the artists’ selves through their own experiments in self representation

Lina Vincent Sunish 201101

BODY : INSTRUMENT

The appearance or the physical body is the outwardly representative of the self. It is a

shell that masks and reveals what is inside, based on the self's conditioning and desires. Being a public embodiment of the personality, it is weighed down with judgmental connotations – beauty, complexion, size, shape, weight and height with standards of perfection and normalcy for the male and female (and other).

This section explores the idea of the body being the instrument of the self; given direction by conscious thought and becoming an external projection of inner processes. The body at times assumes a metaphorical role in translating experience, or becomes the site of investigation and contemplation. Artists who choose to create works in this genre constantly engage with the fine lines between private and public, and the complexities that lie between controlling what the viewer sees and themselves becoming subject to gazes that (could) violate. Fragmentation, exaggeration, ritual repetition, humor and staging are some devices by which artistic control is extended, and the viewers gaze is manipulated.

Each artist here is using the body in whole or part, in a symbolic way, to engage or disengage with a memory, a situation, a feeling of power or limitation – a portion of reality. It is as if by positing the physical action onto the video image, they can somehow catharcize the pain or pleasure, conflict, desire or obsession within the self. 02

Sabrina Osborne'Bad/bed time Stories'

PAL Single Channel video with sound, 3.00 min.

2008

“This work is a record of the endurance of my body when subjected to suffering. There is temporal cause and effect relation, which stimulates a persuasive quality in the work. Relations between interior and exterior bridge external social, political and medical pressures. Emotional states like psycho discomfort and disturbances manifest through the body. I have been looking into connections between culture, emotion, politics and physics, trying to find symbolism and logic. Perforation intensifies strangeness and disjunction. The work can be observed as reflective/ meditative body ritual playing with state of living in continuous anxiety and fear.”

Sabrina received her MA in Art Practice from Goldsmiths, London University in 2009 followed to her BFA (1994) & MFA (1996) in Painting from College of Art Delhi University. She received a scholarship from the Mexican Government, a junior fellowship from the Ministry of Culture and the Garhi Scholarship. The main concerns in her self-referential practice revolve around amalgamations of anxiety, fear, dislocation/relocation, memory, identity, loss and melancholia. She works in multi-media using video, sound and installation as tools in her language. She has been exhibiting her work since 1991, in different parts of the world, and has held eight solo shows in this period, the latest “Fragments of a Fading Memory” 2007, Art Heritage, New Delhi. In 2011 she participated in SAGS Exhibition, Woodmill Studios Gallery, London, and participated and organized 'Samvaad” International Video Screenings in Bangalore and Delhi. She is resident artist at Chocolate Factory studios in London. She is a member of Artist Pension Trust, India. She lives and works between London (UK) and New Delhi (India), as full time artist, freelance writer and curator.

'Bad/bed time Stories' has been shown in the MA Art Practice 1st year exhibition, Goldsmiths Studio B, London, 2008; SAGS Exhibition, Woodmill Studios, London, 2011

http://www.sabrinaindia.com/

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Srinivasa Prasad'Cleansing'

Single Channel video projection of a video projection of a video projection of a performance 2007

“I started with shaving off my head in an attempt to rid myself of the unwanted. Shaving one's head is often associated with death rites and ritual ablutions. I then projected video footage of garbage disposal and recycling units onto my shaven head, which in turn was recorded and projected into a WC bowl being flushed. A recording of this projection is finally projected onto a wall of material being prepared for recycling (in this case, on a wall of old newspapers). In this manner there is a gradual progression towards a symbolic cleansing of unwanted memories and thoughts and 'flushing' them out of my mind.”

Srinivasa Prasad's current solo exhibition 'Nirantara' (2011) is underway at GALLERYSKE, Bangalore where he also held his previous solo 'Someday it all has to end' (2009). Prasad has exhibited work at Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna as part of Krinzinger Projektes (2008), the Singapore Biennale (2008) and in 'Six Feet Under Autopsy of Our Relation to the Dead' at the Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland (2006). In 2007 Prasad was part of a sculpture residency at the ARCUS project in Moriya, Japan. The artist's previous work also includes site-specific installations in Bangalore – 'Work Under Progress' at Samkalpa Art Studio, 'Save my only home, Earth' at Ganganagar Last Bus Stop, commissioned by the Transport Department, Bangalore and 'Sthala Puranagalu / Two Dialogues and a Conversation' curated by Pushpamala N in 1999. Srinivasa Prasad completed his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Sculpture from College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat in 1996 and his Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Chitrakala Institute of Advanced Studies, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat in 1998. Prasad lives and works in Bangalore and Sagara, India.

'Cleansing' was made while the artist was on residency at the ARCUS Project in Moriya, Japan. It was shown in Moriya Japan, at GALLERYSKE, Bangalore and Maker Maxity , Mumbai.

Gallery representation: GALLERYSKE Bangalore http://www.galleryske.com/

Courtesy: GALLERYSKE Bangalore and the artist

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Sonia Khurana 'Lone women don't lie'

Single channel video, PAL, hi-8 (B+W) 4 min looped, silent.1999

‘lone women don't lie' [1999] is the first in the series of visual dialogues; with myself, with other people, or even with cities, that I often use as devices in order to foreground desire, intimacy, vulnerability, power, and so on, in its every-day manifestations. Filmed in my studio in London in 1999 'lone women..' attempts to foreground the erotic dimension of the desiring self ; over-powering oneself through a playful display of exaggerated affection. Sonia Khurana (2000)

“…In “lone women don't lie”…dual appearances of the head and naked shoulders of the artist herself against a white backdrop perform a mutual adoration. Nibbling 'herself', the sometimes erotic, sometimes childlike bobbing face of the artist engages in a nuzzling, sniffing, pecking apprehension of an original image or object that lies off screen. The focus of that apprehension, turned back on itself, now gently gnashes her teeth, now rapidly laps and flicks her tongue. The whole asymmetrical sequence ends with a sudden meeting of lips in a frozen, fleshy kiss. This is an amusing performance…yet its perceptual significance lies in the fact that the sharing of a perceptual field and represented space … presents both a distinct simultaneity - two women playing in almost identical ways - and discontinuity, with performances happening at staggered times.

Excerpts from : “A Phenomenology of Origins” – Essay in the artist's book: 'lone women don't lie' Dr. Leon Wainwright. 2000, London.

Sonia khurana's art practice embraces areas in-between video, photography, elements of performance, text, drawing, installation, and more recently, works in public spaces. She tends to draw critically on concerns with interiority and the poetics of everyday experiences in ways that are often visually simple and understated. Through these poetic intimations she aims to persistently explore and re-define the space of the political. After a BFA and MFA in at Delhi College of Art, she received the INLAKS Grant to study art at the Royal College of Art in London, between 1997 and 2000. This was followed by a short course at the Film and Television Institute in Pune and in 2002, a 2-year Research residency at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. In the past decade, Sonia has had significant visibility internationally. Recent exhibitions include : 'Paris-Delhi-Bombay', Pompidou center, Paris [2011], 'Video: an art, a history', Singapore Art Museum [2011], ' Indian Highway' Serpentine gallery, London etc [2008 to ongoing], 'Elles@Pompidou.center', Paris [ 2009 to 2011] ; 'Where three dreams cross', London and Zurich [2010] ; Liverpool biennial 2010, Aichi triennale 2010 : Nagoya Japan ; 'West heavens: Place time play' Shanghai [2010], “a tribute to Yvonne Rainer” B.F.I. [2010], 'Global feminisms', Brooklyn museum etc. 2007 to 2010].

'lone women don't lie' has been shown in 'Paris-Delhi-Bombay' at the Pompidou center, Paris, May 2011 till September 2011, 'New Delhi New Wave' : Gallery Marella gallery, Milan, 2007, New York art fair, 2007 and in the solo exhibition 'lone women don't lie' - in 2000 , in New Delhi and Calcutta.

Contact : sonia_khurana@yahoo.com

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Surekha'Three Fragmented Actions of Silence'

Single Channel Video (16mm/Digital) 8.50 min. 2006/7

The work constitutes an autobiographical turning point for the artist as it records the transition from her real self to her media image. The video has three parts, act One: “Making a Flower”, act Two: “Unveiling Images” and act Three: “Blue River/Red River”. In the first, the horizontally divided frame combines the positive and negative, the progress and reversal of the same time bound process, that of eating a flower. The second part plays with the simple act of slowly and deliberately uncovering a face. In quick succession, the veil unveils different realities. In the third part, blue and red lines on the palms of a pair of hands get transformed into blood like pools.

Surekha was born in Bangalore, and studied art at the Ken School of Arts, Bangalore and at Vishwabharathi University Shantiniketan. She has shown her work in galleries across India, Europe, in the Middle East and the United States, including the Royal Academy in London, the Kunst Museum in Bern, Bodhi and Chemould galleries in Mumbai, Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris, and the Mason Grove gallery at Duke University, North Carolina USA. In 2010 she participated in the Young artist Bukarest Biennale, Rumania curated by Mica Ghergescu, Baskiath video art –Paris/Dubai, Videoappart, Triad- Loveland Museum, USA and held a solo show 'Unclaimed- urban f(rictions) in Bangalore and Hongkong. Surekha has been exploring the possibilities of the video form, negotiating the public and private, locating the gendered body as a site of contestation and appropriation. She uses photography and video to archive, document and perform. She lives and works in Bangalore, India.

'Three Fragmented Actions of Silence' has been shown at 'What do you want?', Asian Triennale, Corner House gallery, Manchester curated by Kathy Rae Huffman; 'Communing with Urban Heroines', a photo and video installation, Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore; 'Second sex', 10 Chancery lane, Hongkong; 'India Moderna', Ivam Museum, Valencia, Spain, curated by Juan Guardiola, among others.

http://surekha.info/

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Baptist Coelho‘CORPORAL DIS(CONNECT)(Standard Mode & Intoxicated Mode #1)' 2 channel video running time: 1.00 min loop each.2007

In the two-channel video, CORPORAL DIS(CONNECT) (Standard Mode & Intoxicated Mode #1), Coelho performs two repetitive gestures in order to explore how the mind and body construct and interpret certain rhythmic patterns under different stimuli. In Channel 1, fingers are seen interacting in a recurring pattern; where the movements appear synchronized. In contrast, Channel 2 shows the artist challenging the physicality and control of this action by becoming intoxicated. The pattern is disrupted as the external stimulus of alcohol becomes internalized and the mind struggles to decipher the movement; as well as re-establish it. As a result, the rhythmic action becomes impeded and the artist struggles for a sense of normalcy. This personal exploration brings to light how we manipulate life through pattern and behavior and how external stimulus can often affect our reactions; which we cannot often oppress. These actions were performed at the navel area; the central part of our body, where we derive our core sense of identity and security. The work is a personal investigation of behavior involving the interactions between mind and body.

In 2006, Baptist received his Masters of Arts from the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD), UK. Solo Exhibitions have included BIAD, Birmingham (2006); Grand Palais, Bern (2009); Visual Arts Gallery, Delhi (2009) and Project 88, Mumbai (2009). His work has been exhibited at galleries and institutions, including Zacheta National Art Gallery, Poland (2011); Essl Museum, Austria (2010); Gwangju Museum of Art, South Korea (2010) and Devi Art Foundation, India (2008). Baptist Coelho frequently merges personal research with collaborations from various cultures, geographies and histories. His work begins to take the form of human-shaped media-landscapes which often contend with history, the environment, conflict, emotion and randomness. As part of his practice, Coelho incorporates installation, video, sound, photography, found objects, site-specific works and public-art projects. Coelho's videos have been screened at institutions, including Swiss Architecture Museum, Basel (2011) MAC, Lyon (2011); Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland (2010); HEART - Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2010) among others. He has also participated in artist-in-residence programs, workshops, panel discussions and artist talks in India, South Korea, Switzerland and UK. The artist lives and works in Mumbai, India.

'CORPORAL DIS(CONNECT) (Standard Mode & Intoxicated Mode #1)' has been shown in – 'Transformations' (Part of Indian Highway III, IV & V) - MAC, Lyon (2011); MAXXI, Rome (2011); HEART - Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2010); 'Indian Highway' - Contemporary Indian Video, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland, Curator: Hafthor Yngvason (2010); Fixed Frame Film Festival, 'KwaSuka Theatre', Durban. Juried Selection (2008)

Gallery Representation: Project 88, Mumbai, India www.project88.in

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MISSION : IDENTITY

Sometimes defining, scrutinizing, establishing and projecting the elusive qualities of

self and its positioning as a social identity become the all consuming pursuit of an art work. Individuality, uniqueness, distinctiveness, characteristics, character, personality – these are synonyms for 'identity'. The comprehension of identity can involve self-questioning and evaluation, comparisons with 'other', testimonies, confessions and complex intellectual debates.

Here the (artist's) self is placed within a larger narrative, subtly or blatantly indicating clues as to the conditioning and history of the individual. Past and present, native and foreign, cultured and coarse mingle against a backdrop that is part real, part fantasy. The viewers seem a necessary element, imagined into the making of the art; they are meant in some ways to vindicate the protagonist's actions, to believe or disbelieve in ideas, become participants in the charades and play acting, or to share in the memory and nostalgia.

Mostly autobiographical sketches, the videos included in this section present samples of how the self can be projected beyond the body, onto a concept, person, place or thing. 08

Diego Caglioni'Self Pad'Video, 1080p, no sound 5.06 min, loop.2011

“The moment of making and the 'creation' gesture itself is summarized in this video. The trackpad is the only witness of the work 'in fieri', silent translator of mechanical moves into electrical and digital pulses, as the fingers themselves that identify and auto-describe me.”

After studies in biotechnology Diego Caglioni graduated at Academy of Fine Arts "G. Carrara" in Bergamo, Italy. His artistic research focuses on how new media are affecting the everyday life and behaviour of people and, in the meantime, the changing of technology in relation with “traditional” media. His preferred languages are installations, videos, performance and photography.Videos, in particular, have not narrative framework but they're short situations or visions, often simple, essential and iterative, also grow up from virtual environment sensations. Since 2006, he has taken part in numerous group shows, and participated in collaborations and workshops all over Europe recently including Videoart Yearbook 2011, Chiostro di Santa Cristina, Bologna, Italy; Loading..., solo show, Placentia Arte, Piacenza, Italy; Ambiente Video, Ex-Macello, Padua (2010), Italy; Pratica e diffusione della videoarte in Italia, Loop Barcelona, Spain (2010);. He has also been part of Steve Piccolo's projects, including: The Choir of Musicless Sound, Teatro Arsenale, Milano; Il Suono Dell'Arte, indagini nel museo polisensoriale, Undo.Net; Disturbance Chorus, performance at The Basquiat Show, Triennale di Milano. This is the first time his work is being exhibited in India; he lives and works in Bergamo, Italy.

'Selfpad' has been shown at 'Videoart Yearbook' 2011 in Chiostro di Santa Cristina, Bologna, Italy.

http://www.diegocaglioni.net/

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Kiran Subbaiah'Concealments (trailer)'Excerpts from 13 videos.1998/99

“Measure with micro-meter, mark with chalk and chop with axe.” Kiran Subbaiah

The extracts from various videos are strung together in seemingly random sequence, establishing an absurd narrative in which the protagonist pushes the notions of 'self' and others' perception of it, often in a disorienting way. The scenes involve the audience in decoding a commentary mostly understood by the maker himself. Underlying the humor and satire are nuances of psychological debates and observations on life in general.

Kiran Subbaiah completed his Bachelor's degree in sculpture from Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, in 1992. He then went on to complete two Master's degrees, also in sculpture, the first from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, in 1994, and the second from the Royal College of Art, London, in 1999. His creative production consists of 3-dimensional objects, site/context-specific texts, short stories, videos, and proposals for utilitarian objects. He has been making computer-specific art-objects since 1999. His work often subverts the meaning or function of an object and he sees the whole advantage of making art in the fact that it need not actively serve a purpose. He has been exhibiting his work since 1996, and has participated in workshops and residencies in India and across Europe. He lives and works in Bangalore, India.

The real show of 'Concealments (trailer)' is on indefinitely at youtube.com and vimeo.com. What is shown at art-spaces is the documentation of it.

Gallery Representation: Chatterjee & Lal www.chatterjeeandlal.com

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Rudina Hoxhaj'Globi'Single Channel video (DVD PAL Audio Stereo) 2.00 min.2010

“Frames of memory pass through my mind. Places, smells and familiar sounds follow me everywhere, it sounds like a nice old song from the place where I come from. I always love to be a citizen of the World: to have an origin and own a nomadic identity, “to be on the road.”

After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tirana, Albania, Rudina Hoxhaj moved to Bergamo, Italy where she is graduated in Fine Arts at the Carrara Academy of Fine Arts. Traveling as wandering, passing through, roaming and visiting are important elements for her artist practice. She involves her audience and uses video, photography, drawing and performance as entry points for the viewer into the fantasies she generates. She has been exhibiting her work since 2002, and has participated in more than twenty exhibitions and workshops all over Italy and Albania. Her recent participations have been in the 2010 - FestArte VideoArtFestival, Spazio Monitor, MACRO Testaccio, La Pelanda, Roma (Italy); and the 2010 - Supermegadrops 6. Selection from Careof DOCVA archive curated by Mario Gorni. CRAC Cremona (Italy). This year her work was shown at the 5th Prague Biennale. She lives and works in Bergamo, Italy.

http://www.rudinahoxhaj.net/

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Jihye Park'The Sisters II' Single channel video, Super 8 film with sound,4:3, colour 5.54 min.2009

“The Sisters (2009) and The Sisters II (2009) are based on specific elements of my own reality. They elucidate mental landscapes on the crossroad between the conscious and unconscious as played through in memories or dreams. These films inhabit a space beyond the lines of reality and the present world and verge upon, but do enter sure-footedly, the alternative, surreal enclave. The films are an anti-diatribe on my own meta-narrative. The narratives are outside a temporal space, I do not intend them to be timeless or for them to be outside any specific time. They focus upon a mythical sensibility and in an almost real world. The metaphors I use focus upon a romanticism and possessiveness and flit sporadically from one point to another to create an air of the unnerving and unsettling.

The focus of the film is upon the girl taking her sister to the pond, she spends a great deal of time looking at her reflection in the pond. I wanted to highlight the worst, insincere, Romantic elements of narcissism inherent in her. This is also why her sister has the same face as her; it is some ways herself that she is drowning. My intention is to construct a plain rooted in the unconscious, conducive to the evocation of emotional responses comparable to my own.”

Jihye Park was born in South Korea. She completed a BA in Fine Art and Contemporary Critical Studies after an Extension Degree Fine Art and History of Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. This was followed by an MFA Art Practice at the same institute. Her work has been shown at exhibitions in various parts of the world. Within her practice Jihye explores the idea of the Fairy Tale and its fantastical, the horrific and paradoxical elements. She chose the Fairy Tale as the vernacular to explore ideas of memory and truth in the formation of an individual; investigating both personal and collective experience. In 2010, she held a solo exhibition titled 'The Hollow Nadir of Vanity', (Tenderpixel Gallery, London, UK). Few of her recent participations have been in 'Object Object Object' (Art Space H, Seoul, Korea), RHIZOSPHERE: Directions in Motion, 4482 [SASAPARI] (Bargehouse, Oxo Tower, London, UK), and Experimental Video Art 7 Exhibition, Thai-European Friendship 2010, (Bunditpatanasilata Institute, Bangkok, Thailand). She lives and works in London, United Kingdom.

'The Sisters II' has been shown in 2010 in 'The Devil's Necktie', (The Woodmill, London, UK); 'Ways of Seeing', Part 1, (I-MYU Project, London, UK); 'Invisible Bonds', (Korean Cultural Centre, London, UK) and 'New Romance', (Ada Street Gallery, London, UK)

www.jihyepark.com

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Abhishek Hazra'GhostLaw PipeFlow'Single Channel version of a double channel installation 4.35 min.2009

“This video is a documentation of a performance. I collected soil from Trier, in Germany – from the very house Karl Marx was born in. I then positioned myself on the roof of Casino Luxembourg, a prominent cultural institution in Luxembourg and attempted to throw that sacred dust to the winds. It was my small gesture to contaminate this city of banks with the traces of a different imagination. Or was I affirming my rights over Europe, which still sees itself as the Promethean ground of civilization? In the video installation version, this work is accompanied by wall writing. Scrawled over using the same Marx dust from Trier, the writing reformulates Marx's famous Eleventh Thesis on Feuerbach as: The Traders of Praxis have changed Marx in various ways. The point however is to read him.”

Abhishek Hazra is a visual artist based in Bangalore, India. He graduated from the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. His work explores the intersections between technology and culture through animated shorts and performance pieces that often integrate textual fragments drawn from real and fictional scenarios. He is also interested in the social history of scientific practices in colonial India. His ongoing research project in this area has been funded by India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore. He has previously exhibited and performed at Fundació “la Caixa”, Barcelona, HEART Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Casino Luxembourg Forum d'art Contemporain, Centre pour l'image contemporaine, Geneva, Experiment Marathon Reykjavik, Reykjavik Art Museum and Kunstmuseum Bern. Abhishek has been Artist in Residence at Gasworks, London on a Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship; PROGR - Zentrum fur Kulturproduktion, Bern (funded by Pro Helvetia), Art Omi International Artist's Residency, New York (Prana Foundation) and a recipient of the KHOJ International Residency in Arts and Science, New Delhi.

'GhostLaw PipeFlow' was exhibited at 'Living off the Grid', group show curated by Meera Menezes at Anant Art Gallery, Delhi,2009 http://abhishekkhazra.info

Gallery representation: GALLERYSKE Bangalore http://www.galleryske.com/

Courtesy: GALLERYSKE Bangalore and the artist

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“Continuing my preoccupation with the self imagery after a series of paintings, this is an attempt to expand the thought into the moving images where the 'self' is involved in chasing the intangible urban dreams. The elusive mythical character of 'golden deer' repeatedly and endlessly haunts the protagonist within the urban backdrop. The series of visuals portray an interpretation of everyday reality and nurtures the fragile feelings of human emotions and the images are caught between complex situations and dilemmas of reality.”

V. G. Venugopal completed his BFA in Painting from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA), Mysore (1998) and MFA in Printmaking from Chitrakala Institute of Advanced Studies, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore (2000). His recent solo show was “MONOLOGUES”, Gallery Blue Spade, Bangalore (2010). He participated in 6th and 8th Bharath Bhavan International Biennale of Print-Art, Bhopal (2004 & 2008), 42nd, 47th, 49th and 50th National Exhibition of Art, Lalith Kala Akademi, New Delhi. He has attended many camps and workshops, the most recent being 'Sethusamudram Residency' at Theertha International Artists' Collective, Colombo, Sri Lanka (2010). Venugopal V.G. (b 1976) makes autobiographical sketches of the city, exploring the challenges posed to an individual identity in a collective sphere. He alternates between painting, printmaking and experimental media, with drawing as the base. His recent works are a result of evolving alternative approaches in dealing with questions he asks himself about the changing facets of human relations and sensibilities, environmental issues, and struggle for identity in an urban reality/context. He lives and works in Bangalore, India.

vgvenu@gmail.com

Venugopal V.G'Elusive Entity'

Stop motion animated video, 3.00 min.2010/11

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When the self takes on the task of channeling shared experience, its representation

envelopes a broader sphere, not confined to the physical body and its immediate environment. Moral, ethical and political stands filtered through memory and experience, notions of belonging and insiderness –both personal and social - contribute to the self-hood of a person, and this is manifest in the often multilayered and abstract nature of expression.

Solitary experience can be rendered insignificant by the enormity of collective happenings; becoming the voice of the other, and reflecting and commenting on realities becomes the driving force behind the projection of self. The artists here are routing the experience of the self through a larger, collective consciousness, and expressing varied notions of activism, compassion and oneness/difference with the other, using diverse formal languages.

VOICING THE COLLECTIVE

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Mahbubur Rahman'Keep Away'

Single Channel Video with sound, 5.37 min.2010

“In South Asia, it is familiar to see the barb-wire and iron cage–like barricades that have been resting on the main streets of the city for ever, sometimes it looks like an unseen war going on. They remain so long on the street that they finally become the skeletons. These barricades are usually used by the police or army during any political crisis of the country, no matter whether it is the army government or a democratic government. The barricades make a division between armed forces and protestors. In the eighties when we had the army regime, it was a common sight in most main streets especially the University area. Sometimes protesters were trapped by the barricades from both sides of the road; they tried to fight and struggled to cross the barricades, but most times bitten by the police or army in the middle of the trap.When I see the barricades now, I am reminded of my student experiences. They may never be removed. I did the performance finding out the struggle inside the metal structure. It is a little dangerous and has a narrow hole to cross from one end to the other. The Video of the performance “Keep Away” was originally installed along with an installation that I did last year. The performance was done in a peaceful and silent atmosphere in the early morning, although the video has a sound of marching and singing bowl that may evoke a mixed feeling of peace and war”.

Mahbubur Rahman is a performance artist and painter based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Rahman was born in Dhaka, and completed his M.F.A. in the Institute of Fine Art at the University of Dhaka. He has 12 Solo Shows and a number of group exhibitions all over the world. He has been to several Residencies and workshops in U.K, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Indonesia, Korea, Denmark, India, Nepal, Japan and China. He is a founder member and coordinator of the BRITTO Arts Trust and Porapara Space for Artists, Chittagong. Mahbubur Rahman is known for his constant experimentation with and an intelligent uses of a range of media. He began practicing as an artist in 1989. Living through a period of political ferment in the country with mass movements to overthrow military rule and bring in a democratically elected government constantly influenced his practice. He and his peers have been interested in the formulation of the contemporary, which is about experimentation, creating spaces for such forays, finding an oppositional voice and generating public opinion, among other things. Rahman's work was part of the Bangladesh Pavilion at the La Biennale di Venezia, 2011. He lives and works in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

'Keep away' has been shown at the Asian Art Biennale in 2010 in Dhaka. www.brittoarts.org www.mahbub-lipi.com

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Murali Cheeroth'An Old Story'

Single Channel video, PAL DVD, 3.32 min.2009

‘An Old Story' speaks of an individual's die-hard belief in the struggle for justice and equal rights. The poem attributed to Pastor Martin Neimoler (1892-1984) about the Nazi rise to power and reminding one of the dangers of political apathy, is re-presented here moving across the screen with an intention to warn the viewer that the days of struggles are not over yet. The artist, with his carefully handcrafted device, moves the poem like a ritual and later manipulates it into the scheme of war time documentaries.

Murali Cheeroth received BFA and MFA in Painting from Santiniketan. He has exhibited in various significant shows across the globe in the last two decades of his art practice. Few amongst them are 'Habitus', Sumukha Art Gallery, Bangalore and Chennai (2010), Unmarked' - New Delhi (2009); 10th Edition of Video Wednesday, curated by Johny M L, Gallery Espace, April (2009), Passage to India-Part-II new Indian art from the Frank Cohen Collection in March, Wolverhampton. U K. (2009); The Sun Rises in the East, Contemporary Art from India, Gallerie Christian Hosp, Triol, Austria, (2008). In 2011 his work was seen in Opening Borders/Opening Objects,Department of Visual Arts, University of Western Ontario; Louder Whisper -Orality is Every where -new sound art from India, curated by Meena Vari for CRISP. London College of Communication; “Other Anecdotes” curated group show 2011, 3521 Helms Ave. Culver City, CA 90232. His visual language refers deeply to a variety of sources in the cultural sphere and contains within it a conversation with history of representation in visual media—including literature, fine art, cinema and architecture. His current practice envelopes painting, performance and video art, exploring themes of urbanism and intersections of the global and local. He lives and works in Bangalore, India.

'An Old Story' has been shown in 'Video Wednesdays', Gallery Espace, curated by Johny M.L.; Trivandrum Film Festival 2010, 'Unmarked' solo show at Ashna Gallery, New Delhi 2010; and at the Video Lounge, Art Chennai 2011.

Gallery representation- Ashna Gallery http://www.ashnagallery.com/

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Tayeba Begum Lipi'Agony'

Single Channel Video with sound, 3:00 min.2011

“We see, hear, feel and think about the state of our affairs in our own locations. The world has been passing through nightmares of division, conspiracy, political turmoil and hundreds of other issues that are inappropriate, unjust and indecent for many. These days, in the middle of the booming global communication, we read more, see more and hear more but do less. It's more like entertainment to watch the TV news on war or disaster these days. Our helpless agony appears within a disappointment, relief or anger that may make a mountain without knowing that, the mountain is made by papers that will not live or last for long and can disappear in a second.”

Born in Gaibandha, Bangladesh, Tayeba Begum Lipi has been living and working in Dhaka for the past twenty-five years. She studied drawing and painting at the Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka until 1993. She is one of the Founder- Trustee of Britto Arts Trust, an artists'-run space based in Dhaka, where she plays a major role in the ground of networking and fund raising. Her curatorial projects include several international large-scale projects, as well as recently being the commissioner for Parables: Bangladesh Pavilion at the La Biennale di Venezia, 2011. Lipi has participated as an artist in several national and international events, exhibitions, residencies and workshops worldwide. She attended the Institute of Fine Art in the University of Dhaka for an M.F.A in drawing and painting in 1993. Lipi's art often involves portraiture and feminine iconography (such as mannequins and dolls) to explore themes around the nature of female identity. Her work stretches across a broad range of media and reflects a desire to engage with as wide an audience as possible. She lives and works in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

'Agony' has been shown in FEMLINK- video collage 2011 that shows videos worldwide. It was also displayed at the National Art Exhibition in Bangladesh 2011.

www.brittoarts.org / www.mahbub-lipi.com

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Clémence b.t.d barretfor Jaaga Juice Collective‘all & 1’ Live sound and video.2011

In spite of its heterogeneous components, Jaaga has uniqueness due to its personality: non judgmental, it is in search for an alter-modernity; happy and warm, it is longing to re-invent a creative, common world made by local as well as global exchanges. Welcoming, open to the world and to others, its personality has multiple facets. After two years of existence, its identity has proven to be in perpetual motion. For now this public figure, can only define itself through the emotions, feelings, activities and behaviors of the amorphous community it has created. A mirror on a wall, with sound and in it, the slightly deformed reflection of Jaaga's internal space. It is the reflection of the live image and sound captured by a web cam installed in the heart of the Jaaga Living Building. Constantly taking in, framing and projecting back the images and sounds of the people who work, live and engage in its body. This constant video and sound flow reflected in the mirror bears witness to the daily life of Jaaga and by doing so, extends Jaaga's intrinsic self – its ever-evolving identity of permanent flux.

Jaaga Juice is an interactive arts hacker-maker collective comprising of: Archana Prasad, media artist/poet- Clemence b.t.d. Barret , artist/film-maker- Freeman Murray, hacker - Kiran D, maker - Ria Rajan, designer -Sean Blagsvedt, hacker. This collective is super interested in hacking cutting-edge consumer and beta technologies to create artworks that are interactive and sentient. The theoretical framework that they have begun to articulate and are constantly developing are: Enlightened Singularity, The Living Building .

Clémence b. t. d. Barret is a French artist. Intimacy, the quest for happiness, emotions, femininity, belonging and identity are some favorite topics that Clemence has been exploring for the last few years. Her expressions are composed of varied media - video, photography, words, sounds, movements and objects- combined together or not. Before joining the Jaaga Juice collective, she started her collaboration with Jaaga in late 2010 as an artist in residence; where created an installation called “Miss miss hop o' & friends” about nomadism. She currently lives and works in Bangalore, India.

http://www.jaaga.in/juicewww.clemencebarret.com

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JAAGA,based in Bangalore, India, seeks to nurture innovative endeavors by providing space, core infrastructure, and a diverse social environment. We explore new ways of using pallet rack shelving to create a social and collaborative place for a wide range of forward thinking people. Founded by Freeman Murray and Archana Prasad in Bangalore, India in August 2009, the project looks at developing an environment that connects people to their habitat organically and dynamically. It constantly looks for ways to engage and exist without weighing heavily on the earth's limited natural resources.

No 68, Lalbagh KH Road,Bangalore-560027www.jaaga.in

Lina Vincent Sunish is an art historian and curator based in Bangalore, India. Her experience in the last ten years has been in research,writing, design and arts management. She is also a printmaker, and is currently pursuing a study on printmaking history in India.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank my family and all my friends, and everyone who has ever encouraged me to write and curate. They are too numerous to list here. I thank JAAGA for lending me their space, and COBALT EMD for their technical support. I am grateful to every artist in this show for being part of it.

cobaltemd.com

I am here in body, in the flesh;I am here in spirit, in consciousness;

I am here in sensation - in pain, pleasure, wonder, anger;I am here in this voice, in this expression;I am here in this fantasy; I am here; I am.