A boundary is an inseparable part of our daily lives. It is a demarcation that separates us from private, public, self, etc from the other. While some are imaginary, unreal, there are those which are existential and real.
Exploring various derivations of boundaries, artists like Farah Mulla, Rai and Savyasachi Anju Prabir, Sanayvi Naik, Urna Sinha, Vinita Barretto, Aldona Community Collaborative (Conrad Pinto, Eveny Luis, Isa Hinojosa, Blaise D’Sa, Flavia Lobo and children and community members of Aldona) have put together an exhibition, entitled ‘Boundaries’ that defines separation through art.
Monolithic stone boundary markers in papier mâché
Hailing from the village of Ponda, Goa, Sanayvi Naik’s artwork showcases interactive sculptures that display a collection of monolithic stone markers, commonly used to demarcate boundary lines between two districts and communities. He uses the medium of papier mâché, as paper is an important medium to preserve legal documents and they hold a lot of history.
The artworks put forth themes of land, ownership, symbols of control and authority, etc. As you walk and gaze at the artwork, you are made to think about how beautifully the artist has tried to put forth a concept that everyone comes across in their life.
Myths of the real and unreal
While talking about dividing lines, one can also ponder upon the concept of Goa’s Rakhondars or guardian spirits, through the collaborative work by Rai and Savyasachi Anju Prabir. Rai holds a Master’s degree in Animation Filmmaking from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, while Savyasachi Anju Prabir holds a Master’s in Visual Anthropology, from the University of Muenster, Germany.
The collaborative work dwells into the idea of how these unreal, or real, figures keep a check on the village and the people, and if someone builds a wall obstructing their way, they find it in ruins the next morning. Their installation provokes an imagination of these figures, and drawing from the stories of guardian myths of Rakhondars, this collaborative process addresses the current context of insider-outsider negotiations in Goa.
Photographing personal space
As you walk through the gallery and try to connect these installation with your day-to-day life, you are introduced to the work of Vinita Barretto 'Fragile Fragments', who showcases boundaries related to intimate encounters. Her photographs delve into a personal space of family. She captures everyday moments of family life and vignettes of coastal life. We are asked to consider the invisible lines that anchor us to a particular place or context, the lines that bind us together.
Tracing Absence
Urna Sinha’s practice combines printmaking, fabric and bookmaking, and put forth a topic of the immediate zone of containment, experienced by all living beings – the body. Her work ‘Tracing Absence’ looks at how the hands and skin carry with them a sense of warmth and memory. She has created an abstract book that collects the gestures of all the hands that encounter it in its making. She studies hands to explore the meaning of gestures and the politics of viewership.
Haptic effects on neurology
Farah Mulla invites visitors to listen, touch and be visually immersed in sounds. Her work considers the many different ways that sound can involve and affect both the physical and emotions of a person. She combines her background in science with her contemporary art practice to use sound as a means to explore haptic effects on human neurology.
Visitors can walk into an immersive spectrogram projected onto the walls where one can observe a literal translation of the sounds they make into visuals. The same sound can be experienced via its tactility by sitting on the specially designed sonic bench at the centre of the room. This activity helps to interact with and define, space. One can reflect upon series of contemplative journeys through sound, noise and silence.
Tree of life
Also, on display are scenes from Aldona’s ‘Tree of Life’, created by the recipients of the first Goa Open Arts Engage Grant for community-based work. The project team includes Conrad Pinto, Eveny Luis, Isa Hinojosa, Blaise D’Sa, Flavia Lobo and the children and community members of Aldona. Through the project they intended to not only create a mural that brings together the community to think deeply about their place in the local environment, but to encourage local authorities to create safe and accessible place for recreation and play.
WHEN: Open till April 30
WHERE: Sunaparanta Goa Centre For The Arts, Altinho, Panjim
TIMINGS: 10 am to 6.30 pm, Monday to Saturday.
CONTACT: www.sgcfa.org