Identity of a Monster

a Art performance at Kolkata International Performance Art Festival 2016, [#kipaf16]

venue: Pathuriaghata Ghosh Bari courtyard, Kolkata. Duration: 25 minutes / 24th Jan 2016

Identity of a Monster

In the month of January 2016 I was selected to participate Kolkata International Performance Art Festival 2016 which was held on 23rd Jan to 26th Jan. During that time I was a student of University of Hyderabad where on the 17^th Jan 2016, A Dalit Research Scholar named Rohith Vemula a student of our University committed suicide. He was social boycotted by the administration of the University. During the festival many of Indian Artist tried to work on that mishappening through the medium of Art performance. 

This mishappening had shaken me and that partially its influence on my performance.

Identity of a Monster

a Art performance at Kolkata International Performance Art Festival 2016, [#kipaf16]

venue: Pathuriaghata Ghosh Bari courtyard, Kolkata. Duration: 25 minutes / 24th Jan 2016

the space for the performance titled "Identity of a Monster"

It was day 2, 24^th Jan at Kolkata International Performance Art Festival 2016 (KIPAF 16), around noon; the performances for the day had just begun. I silently took a corner at the Pathuriaghata Ghosh Bari courtyard and began at attempt an identity transformation. Coming from Assam, I have many questions around religious identities, violence and fear. After the transformation, through silent performativity, there was an exploration of participatory reactions, I was caring the fear and wonder of acceptance.

Kipaf Link:  ANUPAM SAIKIA | IDENTITY OF A MONSTER

With the help of ash and charcoal I draw on my physical surface and extended into almost black. Through this I want raise many questions like identity embodied religion, caste etc, self of the artist and its conflict between figure of the self etc. I wrote a line on my body "I have become Monster" which was taken from suicide note of Comrade Rohith Vemula.

 

Holding the mirror I walked around to every person and stand in front of them. They can see themselves in the mirror which is holding in front of my chest which is metaphorically relate to Ramayana myth where Hanuman portrayed as splitting his chest and showing that lord Rama is within it. My gesture, counter gaze direct to the viewer provokes to think on the issue. Through this performance I am trying to erasing the identical, political conflict and arising question in to viewers mind towards the identity. It is very important for me to do like this in the context of India where the identical religious conflict, discrimination constantly happening last few years and mostly created by the fundamentalist religious groups.

Artist start intervening with the performer. 

It is very important that when the intervention happen in a Art Performance which is a challenge for the performer how he react the intervention, sometimes the intervention discover many layers hidden with the gesture as well as input many directions with the performance.

My gaze was encountering every person and finally I freeze for one minute in front of Sam Ford, a participant artist in KIPAF 2016. Sam came to me and hug me and in that time i thought i should stop my performance. In my performance I am always never think when i will ended my performance which is depend on the audience reaction. It is also a kind of telepathy connection between performer’s inner psyche and the public.

I am trying to convey different narrative in to a one space. The disjunction and juxtaposed images provoke and force to think. And they can discover the layers emerging from created images or gesture or narrative. 

by Anupam Saikia.

Here is one report by Ferial Afiff, a Indonesian performance artist about KIPAF16 :   EARTH PEOPLE :Ferial Afiff's KIPAF16 report


#performanceartinindia #kipaf16 #anupamsaikia #justiceforRohith #artperformance