My second work with Infinitea:
Location:
Infinitea,
2 Shah Sultan Complex,
Cunningham Rd,
Bangalore
Timing:
The first wave:
(3:00pm-10:00pm) Everyday from Friday, 9th December 2011 till Monday, 12th December 2011
Break:
Tuesday, 13th December, 2011 till Wednesday, 21st December 2011
The second wave:
(3:00pm-10:00pm) Everyday from Thursday, 22nd December 2011 till (it's done)
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or
Flickr progress
A project with Infinitea
using their throw-away paper mats and coaster,
to replace the old tea leaves works that are presently hanging on their walls,
while sharing the process with an audience.
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There have been no preparations.
Just a mental visualization and the desire to see it multiplied.
Before i get into what i had envisioned...
i want to share a condensed history regarding the line drawings i had been working on;
It's a simple exercise i gave myself...
and have (on and off) been following through with it for over 5-6 years within 18 notebooks.
The exercise first started (2003-4) with a pin, where i would scratch lines very close to each other, over a black sheet of paper. Eventually, i started using a pen to replace the pin and decided to connect the lines that were initially separate. I wanted to see where that would take me.
During my art college days, i enjoyed working on it.
After graduation, i had much time to myself and this was something of an addiction (the drawings). I was finding new forms/designs and i was finding how my hand can sometimes move, to create its own designs that i had no intention nor initial visualization of. There was happiness in constant discovery.
This was something i'd do while frequenting cafes. Order the coffee.. find a corner..sit.. sip..draw..
After a couple of months, simple questions arose; As a person dealing with the subject of art, do i need an audience? Do i need them to be conscious of what i'm doing? Would they choose to engage with a person engrossed in an activity? If i draw in front of people, in a public space not intended for art exhibitions, would it still be considered an art exhibition or a performance or something related? To whom should it be considered so /or not?
From then on, instead of selecting the darkest of corners to hide myself in, i started choosing tables that were better lit and where i'd knew people would walk and pass by me. For the purpose of observing peoples reactions, i would put myself in the position where i would invite attention through curiosity (that is, if they showed interest).
In Singapore, it would usually be the baristas who would start a conversation with me by asking, 'What are you drawing?'. None of the customers there, have as yet. In Bangalore though, the baristas do show their curiosity more often than not... and there have been a number of customers who have expressed their interest in what i had been doing. As much as i like observing people, i like these moments... for i find little things about myself through our interactions.
These drawings had for a long time remained as notebook sized works that had been kept to myself. A friend had later convinced me to exhibit along with her in a gallery setting. For the first time these work had been made large(r than usual) (A2 size). It was a new experience of drawing for i had to move my arms more than i had my wrist. I had no audience while making the larger pieces because they had to be done at home.
I had decided at that point that i would not be doing those drawings any longer.. and that i would start transforming them beyond the two dimensions. Without intent, it had happened with this experiment with refuse paper from a printing factory. The bulk of the credit of this project goes to the people who had participated in it (credit for the left photo goes to Xavier)
and now..
that mental glimpse i had earlier ... had shapes like the ones below.
Come on by, if around.
Have a fantastic day ahead!
Mith
9th Dec, 2011 (6:50am)
(my pillow beckons)
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