"Salt : The Great March" an exhibition of Recent works by Shelly Jyoti at IGNCA, 11, Mansingh Road > 28th September to 20th October 2013
Time :
28th September : 5:30 pm - Inauguration by Dr Karan Singh, Member Parliament, President Indian Council of Cultural Relations
28th September to 20th October : 10:30 am - 5:30 pm
- Exhibition on View
Event Description : 'Salt : The Great March' Re-Contextualizing Azrakh Traditions in Contemporary Art and craft, Recent works by Shelly Jyoti.
Exploring salt as symbol of non-violence and investigating sarvodya theory in practice of nonviolence, tolerance, peace, harmony through the narratives of swadeshi politics.
Shelly Jyoti’s new works feature a large khadi fabric with Sanskrit calligraphic print as a site specific installation, two sculptural installations of khadi yarn (aatis) and pipe cleaners, twenty five contemporary artworks with azrakh dyeing/ printing incorporating needle work on khadi fabric and multimedia spoken poetry.
These works draw upon the history of India’s colonial past and Mahatma Gandhi’s 1930 Dandi March, which began the Salt Satyagraha and became an important part of the Indian Independence movement. According to Gandhi, modern societies could become genuine, moral communities, only if the duty of citizenship was duly adhered to. This forms the basis of Jyoti’s new suite of works, which is in continuation to her previous Indigo: Neel Darpan series. Neel Darpan (1860) is a literary text symbolic of yet another anti-colonial, non-violence movement that took place in 1917-18 as thechamparan movement for indigo farmers in India.
In her new body of works, Jyoti explores the possibilities of establishing alternative societies where Gandhian ideals of ‘swadharma’ and ‘sarvodya’ could be established through their sincere implementation. In a society where patriarchal values threaten the free existence of women, the artist feels that re-introducing Gandhian ideals with critical changes would function as a correctional force.
Jyoti’s art works on azrakh textiles explore social activism propounded by Gandhian philosophy of sarvodya which means upliftment of all. The march towards salt becomes symbolic of self-discipline and self-limitation of human wants for communal harmony and moral society. “I am investigating that art through sarvodaya concept when intervened with social issues that are destabilising the social fabric in our lives - canswadharma become a movement for upgradation of societal values! What are the implications of involving art with its audiences where corrupt and corroded human values erode the strength of the societies, communal living and believing.”
Interestingly, Jyoti’s works have been done in collaboration with azrakh artisans of Bhuj, who faced and are still recovering from the disastrous earthquake. “I have been working with 9th and 10th generation azrakh artisan in Bhuj since 2009. My aesthetic decisions regarding this textile printing and dyeing technique are informed by elaborate textile processes that go into creating one artwork. To enhance the textile art, I have further used traditional needle craft technique with Sujni and nakshi kantha (running stitch needle work) stitches belonging to eastern India primarily done by Hindu women dating back to the 18th century. These have been created by using the skills of women’s collectives in India.”
While the twenty-five khadi artworks with quilting technique will be displayed as hanging tapestries, and Jyoti’s self-written poetry on the relevance of Dandi march plays in the background, the showstopper of the exhibition is a large scale installation titled Integrating Khadi which has been made using 30 metres of khadi and printed with Sanskrit calligraphy. This installation represents the Gandhian thought of developing khadi across the villages for the economic independence of then predominantly agrarian society.
Says Jyoti: “This concept is relevant even today from a nationalistic perspective. The expansion of rural khadi industry has not happened due to large scale industrialization in the textile sector with large scale automation and synthetic fibres. I am exploring that if all could wear khadi, could the commitment bring back the nationalistic feeling in the 21st century.”
The other highlight of the show a 12 feet wide by 8 feet installaltion titled Re-wiring A Non-violent Society, which is made of lightweight materials such as pipe cleaners, fabric, plastic, wire and thread. To be created like an interactive installation that encourages audience participation, as a throwback to Gandhi’s mass movements, this will be a work in progress by the artist in the gallery.
The beauty in Jyoti’s work is that while drawing upon India’s colonial past, also engages with contemporary economic interchanges.
Catalog: Essay by Johny ML
Related Events : Exhibitions
28th September : 5:30 pm - Inauguration by Dr Karan Singh, Member Parliament, President Indian Council of Cultural Relations
28th September to 20th October : 10:30 am - 5:30 pm
- Exhibition on View
Entry : Free
Place : Exhibition Hall, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), 11, Mansingh Road, New Delhi - 110001
Metro : Nearest Metro Station - 'Central Sectt.' (Yellow Line and Violet Line)
Landmark : opposite Raksha Bhavan
Landmark : opposite Raksha Bhavan
Event Description : 'Salt : The Great March' Re-Contextualizing Azrakh Traditions in Contemporary Art and craft, Recent works by Shelly Jyoti.
Exploring salt as symbol of non-violence and investigating sarvodya theory in practice of nonviolence, tolerance, peace, harmony through the narratives of swadeshi politics.
Shelly Jyoti’s new works feature a large khadi fabric with Sanskrit calligraphic print as a site specific installation, two sculptural installations of khadi yarn (aatis) and pipe cleaners, twenty five contemporary artworks with azrakh dyeing/ printing incorporating needle work on khadi fabric and multimedia spoken poetry.
These works draw upon the history of India’s colonial past and Mahatma Gandhi’s 1930 Dandi March, which began the Salt Satyagraha and became an important part of the Indian Independence movement. According to Gandhi, modern societies could become genuine, moral communities, only if the duty of citizenship was duly adhered to. This forms the basis of Jyoti’s new suite of works, which is in continuation to her previous Indigo: Neel Darpan series. Neel Darpan (1860) is a literary text symbolic of yet another anti-colonial, non-violence movement that took place in 1917-18 as thechamparan movement for indigo farmers in India.
In her new body of works, Jyoti explores the possibilities of establishing alternative societies where Gandhian ideals of ‘swadharma’ and ‘sarvodya’ could be established through their sincere implementation. In a society where patriarchal values threaten the free existence of women, the artist feels that re-introducing Gandhian ideals with critical changes would function as a correctional force.
Jyoti’s art works on azrakh textiles explore social activism propounded by Gandhian philosophy of sarvodya which means upliftment of all. The march towards salt becomes symbolic of self-discipline and self-limitation of human wants for communal harmony and moral society. “I am investigating that art through sarvodaya concept when intervened with social issues that are destabilising the social fabric in our lives - canswadharma become a movement for upgradation of societal values! What are the implications of involving art with its audiences where corrupt and corroded human values erode the strength of the societies, communal living and believing.”
Interestingly, Jyoti’s works have been done in collaboration with azrakh artisans of Bhuj, who faced and are still recovering from the disastrous earthquake. “I have been working with 9th and 10th generation azrakh artisan in Bhuj since 2009. My aesthetic decisions regarding this textile printing and dyeing technique are informed by elaborate textile processes that go into creating one artwork. To enhance the textile art, I have further used traditional needle craft technique with Sujni and nakshi kantha (running stitch needle work) stitches belonging to eastern India primarily done by Hindu women dating back to the 18th century. These have been created by using the skills of women’s collectives in India.”
While the twenty-five khadi artworks with quilting technique will be displayed as hanging tapestries, and Jyoti’s self-written poetry on the relevance of Dandi march plays in the background, the showstopper of the exhibition is a large scale installation titled Integrating Khadi which has been made using 30 metres of khadi and printed with Sanskrit calligraphy. This installation represents the Gandhian thought of developing khadi across the villages for the economic independence of then predominantly agrarian society.
Says Jyoti: “This concept is relevant even today from a nationalistic perspective. The expansion of rural khadi industry has not happened due to large scale industrialization in the textile sector with large scale automation and synthetic fibres. I am exploring that if all could wear khadi, could the commitment bring back the nationalistic feeling in the 21st century.”
The other highlight of the show a 12 feet wide by 8 feet installaltion titled Re-wiring A Non-violent Society, which is made of lightweight materials such as pipe cleaners, fabric, plastic, wire and thread. To be created like an interactive installation that encourages audience participation, as a throwback to Gandhi’s mass movements, this will be a work in progress by the artist in the gallery.
The beauty in Jyoti’s work is that while drawing upon India’s colonial past, also engages with contemporary economic interchanges.
Catalog: Essay by Johny ML
Related Events : Exhibitions
"Salt : The Great March" an exhibition of Recent works by Shelly Jyoti at IGNCA, 11, Mansingh Road > 28th September to 20th October 2013
!["Salt : The Great March" an exhibition of Recent works by Shelly Jyoti at IGNCA, 11, Mansingh Road > 28th September to 20th October 2013]()
Reviewed by DelhiEvents
on
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Rating:
No comments:
Comment Below