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Khoj International Residency February - March 2003
Through the Khoj International Residency, Khoj wishes to support and incubate experimental creative practices that are across disciplines and are looking at art and its various intersections such as gender, urbanisms, ecology and technology.
About this edition
The second KHOJ International Residency explored the sculptural and plastic arts, playing host to eight artists from France, Nepal, Denmark, Mexico and India.
During the six weeks, most of the artists developed an interest in each other’s work and techniques. The different languages and scripts of India inspired the works created by Barbara Wiebel and Patrice Rouby, that were transferred and painted onto seedpods reminiscent of the laburnum tree commonly found on every road in Delhi. K.P. Soman worked with the theme of smell as a sarcastic and humorous comment on the social system and its dirty politics. He presented his entire work as a beauty parlour installation where there were many small-labelled bottles with different smells. Some of the bottle caps were made in the shape of different religious symbols, and the audience was invited to change the cap from one bottle to another, with the smell remaining the same though the structures changed. This was a subtle reference to the meaninglessness of the political system and its power to exploit people.
Kristine Michael constructed two hundred black and metallic glazed ceramic butterflies, which hung en mass from the ceiling around a 4ft high Venus Fly Trap plant. The plant was an altered male urinal with two washbasin pedestals on a bed surrounded by coal, giving the impression of a wild flower which traps flies as they hover over it. The bathroom fixtures were painted in a decorative manner with the addition of gold luster fangs. Through her art, Kristine transformed the industrial ceramic object, whilst also demystifying the hallowed traditions of blue and white pottery painting. The work dealt with the complex nature of gender issues and human relationships.
