The many colours of art

Art Issue 142 Sep, 2013
Text by Isha Gharti / Photo: ECS Media

The latest art event by foreign artists in Bindu - a space for artists shows how art is getting more personal and more global

On the 10th of July, Bindu, a space for artists, hosted a performance art event by two Indian artists - Prakash I. and Mangala A. M. Both the artists started by presenting a slideshow on their personal journies and their evolution through their artworks. Prakash revealed how he tried his hand in drawing and sketches, experimented with print making and shifted to acrylic, oil and finally to performance. “I have been doing multidisciplinary artworks since a decade, which are personal and impersonal at the same time,” says Prakash. His presentation suggests that his work deals with human emotions in contemporary society. An expert printmaker, Prakash feels Nepal is a great source of inspiration for artists.

Similarly, Mangala A.M. was intially a painter working on gender related issues. Her central themes are still gender based but now her works rely more on performance art, video art and installation. “For the past six years I have been continuously reacting to social, political and gender issues through unconventional ways of art,” shares Mangala. She hails from a small city of Karnataka and wants to experience different cultures and explore different spaces and ultimately wants to reflect all that in her artworks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performances the presentations. The first one was by Mangala who used a round plastic object and placed it on the floor. She not only jumped ‘in’ and ‘out’ of the plastic object repeating the words in and out, but also invited the entire audience to jump into her circle. The theme was stepping out of life in order to look for more clarity in it. Prakash, whose work reminded of some cultural ritual practice, decorated flowers then poured water into small pots and placed it in front of the audiences. Then he passed salt onto the palms of the audience which he washed away by pouring water on their palms later. He demonstrated on how we all always look for greater bonds with one another and even underrated daily activities have a part in doing so.

Both the performances were very interactive and the audiences, mostly artists themselves, were equally excited. The entire event went on for three hours at the end of which the two artists said that though this was their first time in Nepal, it was definitely not their last. “There should be more of international art events not only to get acquainted with different cultures but also to get ourselves updated with new art happenings around the globe,” concluded Prakash.n


Arty Facts

  • Prakash and Mangala are husband and wife who found art as a common denominator in order to live life fully
  • Bindu is now ran by Prithivi Shrestha and Saurganga Darsandhari who themselves are well known visual artists
  • Bindu is an art organization establishment in 2006 that has organized numerous art events involving various local and foreign artists and has contributed much in the field of performance and printmaking among various other genres of art.

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