About me…
I am a visual artist, working with video and photography/performance for the past decade. My concerns are gender, identity and social-urban issues connected with each other.
My first contact with the Goethe-Institut…
My interaction with the Goethe-Institut started from the early ‘90s when I was an art student at Ken School of Arts, Bangalore. The Institute was located on Lavelle Road. I was a regular at the films and exhibitions held there, and also referred to books in the Library.
My first impressions…
I remember clearly, how in those days the Library in the daytime would be transformed into an auditorium in the evening!
The most important thing for me in my work with the Goethe-Institut…
The films connected me to the Institute. In the mid ‘90s it was a feast watching retrospectivess of Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and the like. A group of us watched the films like filmoholics. Watching films on the World War helped me to understand Germany and its political history. It certainly helped me a lot when I went to Berlin, especially during the city walks, mapping the Berlin Wall. Later I participated in a video workshop conducted by Norbert Meissner in 1997, which became a sort of landmark in the development of video art in Bangalore. There was a large scale video festival as well which gave us a kind of insight into the notion of video art. It was one of the most remarkable opportunities for visual interventions, since it was just the beginning of the web-world and internet in Bangalore. At that point there was hardly any other way to access world video art.
The most memorable incident…
In 2007, I approached Evelin, Director of Max Mueller Bhavan (MMB) Bangalore to show my project Communing with Urban Heroines, based on city archives of unnatural deaths of women. It was not merely a show, but an occasion to invite Donna Fernandes, the head of Vimochana, a social organisation. She spoke about her involvement with the city for the past 30 years. The show which began with the introduction by Evelin, followed by the Donna’s speech, gave the event meaningful dimensions. Using 14 video installations in such a big space for one week would have been impossible without the co-operation of the Goethe-Institut. I have never been able to make such a comprehensive presentation. Prabhakar of MMB was so helpful throughout, taking care of the technical aspects and the staff supported me all through the show. I feel it is an interesting moment in my career which I will remember forever.
What makes the Goethe-Institut special…
I feel Goethe is very special in terms of what they have contributed to Bangalore cultural scene. They have come up with a lot of initiatives to connect with the city, to collaborate with art and cultural institutions for past two decades that I have experienced. The Bangalore City Project, initiated two years back, is one of the greatest achievements by any institution concerning the city’s cultural appropriation. I am sure the credit should go to the spirit of Evelin and her staff.
Why international cultural cooperation is important…
International cultural cooperation is very meaningful. Bangalore is my city and I have grown up here and seen the gradual and drastic changes from within. In my experience, either as a student or as a cultural collaborator, I have used resources from the Institute and its archives. There was great support from Goethe both in kind or in monetary form during many events that I have coordinated like the Khoj workshop. Today the world is, ironically, under one roof and threatened, at the same time. To overcome restrictive experience and facilitate a multi-cultural and multi-dimensional interaction is very much needed through cultural cooperation.
My wish for the next 50 years of Goethe in India…
To preserve the same spirit.
