It’s always nice to have a little bit of Goa in Bengaluru. Six city- based artists with a penchant for history, geography and myths have created works of brilliance in the show which will be showcased at the Venkatappa Art Gallery this Saturday.
The show is the continuation of the show which was curated in the Museum of Goa by ace curator Lina Vincent Sunish and Sabitha TP. The art show plays host to works of six passionate painters, photographers and multimedia artists. All the works in the show have been carefully prepared and executed by the artists over a certain theme holds certain significance.
The exhibition is framed around the small piece of land marked ‘Goa’ on the western coast of India, it explores the complex layers of interaction that people of varied race have had with it, and the human dramas that have been enacted on its soil.
The participating artists have structured their oeuvres by entering into Goa’s history in different ways: some have chosen to establish their narratives through tangible artefacts - the land and its built heritage; others have approached the idea of Goa through its waters, and it’s entity as a port and some have emphasised written and oral histories, with references to encyclopaedias and albums, language and script, myth, legend and memory. In general, the idea of history is connected with a linear, chronological order, categorising periods and the dominant influences in each one.
Art, however, has the ability to represent time and space in multiple ways, by allowing the imaginary and the factual to inhabit the same space. Here metaphors and symbols share space with reality and physical evidence. Artistic practice allows history, in some ways, to be freed from the limiting realm of authentication.
By retelling and reinterpreting history visually, the artists author new modes of engagement. The concept of authenticity, deeply embedded in art historical discourse, is an interesting premise within which to absorb this particular compilation of works. What is authentically Goan? Whose roots are original? Who is an insider, who is an outsider?
Every artist has a unique narrative to their works. For Naveen Kumar, his mixed media work represents Vahana. The ‘vahana’ building were one of the reasons the Portuguese were attracted to Gomanta (Goa). This work references various changes in the design and construction of ships along the western coast after Portuguese arrival in India, including the introduction of nails in joints and the increased use of caulking. It is believed that the Portuguese borrowed wood joinery technology from the traditional shipwrights of India. It plays on the conflicting nature of history itself by evoking the art of ship-building.
The show comes to the city at a time when we as a state are in a state of turmoil over the Cauvery issue. It answers a lot of questions over identities and history and for a change it is nice to see such a show at the Venkatappa Art Gallery and is on till September 28.
