After a while, shadows begin to rouse: A Performance by Anupam Saikia
An extended program of Dis-place
curated by Pranamita Borgohain
Dis-place is a part of the larger exhibition ‘The earth Is Still Going Around the Sun’ : CISA 2019 Exhibitions, a culmination of the third edition of Curatorial Intensive South Asia (CISA), a flagship programme by KHOJ International Artists’ Association in partnership with Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan.
Concept:
Citizenship history of any geography is vital and describes the changing relation between an individual and the state. It has come out as the biggest irony of Assam’s political and social life during the past few decades. It had a disruptive impact on the everyday life and many times triggered anxiety in the psyche of the people. The citizens have been grappling with psychological violence.
Saikia’s performance is a take on the existing historical narratives, that asks: how does a certain kind of psychology take shape when violence and conflict endure through decades? His aim is to express the anxiety and metaphorical violence through performative action in a constructed experiential space. He attempts to create an abstract narrative through this performance about identity, citizenship, and the violence that took place in the context of Assam, and which may open multiple doors for the audience to build new narratives with their understanding.
Saikia has juxtaposed his actions with lullabies composed in different languages and some other sounds. These soundscapes create and enhance a psychological aura that provokes the audience to think and connect emotionally. Through this performance, he wishes to involve, re-act, respond, and reinterpret the notion of citizenship along with its location(s) in history, space, and time.
Anupam Saikia is a visual artist working with multidisciplinary approaches. He lives and works in Delhi and Assam and is currently employed as Assistant Professor at World University of Design. Anupam is a prolific painter, with around eight years of experience in performance art. He is currently practicing performance as a medium, exploring new areas and methods, at the national and international level. His live action pieces and exhibitions have been shown in Basel (Switzerland), Malmo (Sweden), Istanbul, Korea, Bangladesh and several galleries in India. He participated as a performance artist at Kochi Biennale 2016 (Students Biennale and Collateral programmes as well), Morni Hills Performance Art Biennale II 2018, Kolkata International Performance Art Festival 2016, and worked as Assistant Curator at Kolkata International Performance Art Festival 2019. He is a founder member of the Anga Art Collective, established in 2010. Anga is among the first art collective in Northeast India that tried to develop alternative art practices in the context of Assam.