This is a series of Art performance project develop and planning and willing to perform in different urban spaces which was a part the project titled "future collaboration" curated by Premjish Achari.
Here the idea of collaboration, collective is very important role in my practice. Because of this reason I like the idea of Future collaborations where this project not limited only to produce an Art product for final display. Though it is important also this project focus on process which can help to share, discuss with each other work and going through a collective approach. Also it helps to Artistic growth where every steps going through research based. Indeed, I liked the idea of engaged the viewer in process to train the audience to rethink on ‘Art’. Also it is very important to train and involve the viewer in this collaboration which will erase the gap between viewer and artist. Also sharing the idea with each other is very consequential which always fabricate new questionnaires beyond the conventions. These elements are always being in my practices.
During the month of July 2016 and over the year lots of violence happen in the context of India. In the same time I am working with fear and violence and tried to understand the how it emerged in our psyche unconsciously. As we all know the use of pallet gun by Indian armed forces on the Kashmiri protesters rendered most of them totally blind and injured others badly. We, as outsiders are not the victim of that incident, but we see those victim as an image/photograph through social media, news paper, internet, and electronic media. Here in this project I want to bring those victimized faces physically through my performance. It is like an injured face travels from Kashmir to other cities like Delhi. The traveling face tried to encounter, engage, disturb in front of other physical bodies to inquire how people react to it. There is always one question that engulfs me, which is that as I am not a victim, how should I react? Through this performance I want to realize/feel the pain and offer solidarity to the people of Kashmir. This is an ongoing project I want carry this travelling face to different cities in order to confront the other’s gaze.
Here in this project i started with a note or a poem (?).
The travelling face
(1)
The travelling face
I know your face travels from your home to road.
Sometimes it travels from your bed,
is it the same face?
Which people can recognize you?
Your face is always in front of us,
not in front of police.
Enclosed, open face.
Your face travels in my dreams,
in those buses,
in metro,
travels as a photograph.
Through a window.
The gaze hits your face.
I should believe this is not your face.
This is mine.
My face travels in your heart.
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| Waiting near road to encounter in city of Delhi, near PVR saket. |
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| in Delhi metro. |
The travelling face invites a Kashmiri friend for witnessed. When travelling face meets the friend, he started to recites "how do you define gift" It could be a package or not or an act of shooting pellets or showing you warmth of democracy...."
After lots of travel by travelling face, he came out with his Kashmiiri friend to public space in Delhi, near PVR saket.
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| in front of PVR saket |
The traveling face / phase 2
(ii)
The travelling face comes from north to east,
Alone
bringing the essence,
to fabricates the pain
from co-traveler
He asked – How do we define the gift?
want to sharing with you.
? History repeated.
Travelling face intervene in the context,
where never had encountered.
I am also inside the contour.
? Contour
? Physical or Psychological.
the wound were willingly accepted.
Yes
We are not the victim.
Why / how should I react ?
The second phase started at Guwahati, like Delhi but it was started in city bus and finally travelling face meets his friends in War memorials, Dighalipukhuri, Guwahti.
date: 16 sept 2016.
"Travelling Face - Phase 2, yesterday traveled through Assam. Through this performance Anupam recreates the pellet injury to unsettle his co travelers and attempt to initiate a discussion on the violence happening in Kashmir. The first phase happened in Delhi where we traveled with him along a young Kashmiri poet. Travelling Face is a secondary witness who strives to bear witness through reconfigured forms of contemporary testimony to events he has never experienced. Realizing his distance from the experience of the oppression he recreates the pellet wounds of Kashmiris, he travels and encounter to disturb and testify. He brings to the surface the brutal violence carried out by the state on Kashmiri spirit and bodies. He forges a solidarity with the victims."
- Written by Premjish Achari, Curator, Future Collaboration.
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| travelling face encounter with police near Ganeshguri Flyover. |
I collected some stone and try to make it beautiful object through some flower motif embodied some words such as land, democracy, love, stone, throw, peace etc. By holding those stone I was travel through bus and the gesture was offering those stones. My face was like very injured like pallet injury. Many people asked in the bus “what happened?” I replied “I am not the victim why should I react” / “I am not the victim how should I react”.
Finally I meet my friends in War Memorial park, Guwahati
where some of other people started observed me with same questions. I started
installed the stones in the park. First encounter happened with the bodyguard
and he can’t allow me to stand or sit there. I replied constantly “I am not the
victim why should I react” / “I am not the victim how should I react”. Some of
the other public in the park neglected me like a beggar and others reacting the
same like the bus. Indeed, we started discussion about the violence why I am
performing. Finally I installed the stones under a fighter plan used in 2nd
world war and we moved out from the park.
Suddenly one girl came to me who was observing in the park
from the beginning. She asked me that she was willing to carry a stone to her
home. I asked which one you want to carry. She replied “the democracy one”. She
went near to the fighter plan and might be carry the stone with another which I
don’t know. This was the best part of the performance.
After one year of performance in the month of February some
of the students of JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) repeated the performance in
the campus of JNU in a protest mood. I got the news from my friends. For me travelling
face was travel in various ways in different place.
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| Students of JNU performing Traveling face in Campus |
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| Umar Khalid, A students activist written mentioning about Travelling face. |
by Anupam Saikia.
#performanceart #artperformance #performanceartinindia #palletguns #kashmir #solidarity
