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NICOLE SUARES
It’s rare for an art show to feature a collaboration between artists, historians and archivists to create a compelling visual narrative.
The ongoing 'ArQhive: Early-Modern-Contemporary Visions' exhibition at the Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts in Panjim offers an intellectually stimulating exploration of 16th and 17th century Goan history through the lens of contemporary art.
The works draw inspiration from collections such as the Codex Casanatense (c 1560-1580), which depicts daily life in Goa, Asia and Africa; Suma de árvores e plantas da Índia intra Ganges (1612) by Manuel Godinho de Éredia, a compendium of Goan plants; and O livro das plantas de todas as fortalezas, cidades e povoaçõens do Estado da India Oriental (1635) by António Bocarro, which illustrates coastal areas of Africa and India.
The show reunites these historical documents with their original home in Goa. It is the first concerted effort to study the materials within the context of contemporary art.
This exhibition embodies what Scottish writer and activist, Sara Sheridan, meant when she described archives as vital clues that help us reflect on and interpret our lives today.
The exhibition is supported by the Fundação Oriente Delegation in India; Swiss Arts Council ProHelvetia; Australian Consulate-General in Mumbai; Australian Government; Creative Australia, and Create NSW.
This exhibition embodies what Scottish writer and activist, Sara Sheridan, meant when she described archives as vital clues that help us reflect on and interpret our lives today.
ARCHIVAL INSPIRATIONS
A lecture by historian Dale Menezes at Sunaparanta two years ago, where he highlighted three manuscripts containing watercolours, set the idea in motion for a show.
“What piqued my interest,” shares Leandre D’Souza, Creative Director of Sunaparanta, “was his question about the authorship of the illustrations, where he argued that the paintings were produced in Goa by local artists.”
Dale, the Historian Advisor for the show came across the manuscripts 15 years ago, and these are among the earliest visual sources available on Goan history.
“More importantly, these sources were either painted by non-European artists or, if European artists were involved, they used painting conventions native to India. Some of these conventions or compositional styles trace back to Jain miniature paintings or ancient Buddhist cave paintings.”
The exhibition is, not just an artistic interpretation of the documents, but the culmination of a year of research and collaborative deliberation. Dale introduced a new methodology where curators, historians and artists revisited these historical sources through a collegial working process.
“For us, such a process, centred in Goa, was a novel approach to constructing an exhibition,” says Leandre and adds, “This collaborative method offered a way to rethink and relate to the past.”
The resulting works serve as an archive, presenting site-specific, photographic, video and performance installations that emerge from a new discourse rooted in the past.
As discussions progressed, fresh perspectives emerged, including new insights into historical connections between the Turks, Malays, Chinese and Africans. The documents revealed how they collected knowledge about trade, medicine and other areas.
Artist Onkar Kshirsagar became intrigued by the spices and pigments of the past, connecting the historical use of cochineal dye from Mexico that eventually made its way to Goa.
Viraj Naik also explored natural pigments, experimenting with hues of olive green and pastel blue.
The artists drew inspiration from the rich biodiversity depicted in the three books mentioned earlier.
Ashish Phaldesai, for example, immerses viewers in Goa’s serene khazans, capturing their ecological importance in watercolour.
Keg de Souza enlivens the exhibition hall with vibrant stained glass displays of biodiversity reminiscent of church windows.
The artists drew inspiration from the rich biodiversity depicted in the three books mentioned earlier.
Other notable works include Asavari Gurav’s 'Notes in Time' (2024), which explores the old practice of sati and the concept of sacrifice. Nadia de Souza's 'The Wedding at Hormuz - Turning Water into Slightly Warmer Water' (2024), celebrates a whimsical union of a rabbit and a fox with an elaborate spread served by human hands.
Sahil Naik's 'Distant Whispers and Lucid Dreams' (2024) transports viewers to murals inspired by religious architecture across Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, especially carvings of local flora carved on church altars and doors.
Uriel Orlow’s 'Mangoes of Goan Origin (An Archive)' (2024) displays prints of 20 delicious varieties of Goa’s mangoes, each bearing the first letter of its name in a different (20 different languages — from Arabic to Devanagari and Kannada to Syriac) script.
Vijay Bhandare's 'Goa Dourada' portrays the socio-economic surge of the period, including elements that depict its rise and eventual fade into history.
Viraj Naik's Series: 'Dialogue Between the Two' (2024) revisits techniques and metaphors to revive the concept of visual wooden manuscripts.
Dale hopes the exhibition will spark much-needed interest in these historical sources, often hidden due to limited access.
In addition to the threat of humidity damaging archival materials, Dale notes, “We need to cultivate a spirit or a temper where we try to solve problems in our society by engaging with the archives, conceived very broadly as different types of information from the past.”
The exhibition continues till November 2, 2024 and features artists Asavari Gurav, Ashish Phaldesai, Keg De Souza, Leticia Alvares, Maria do Carmo Picarra, Nadia de Souza, Nishant Saldanha, Onkar Kshirsagar, Sahil Naik, Susana Bastos Mateus, Uriel Orlow, Vijay Bhandare and Viraj Naik.