'Traces from iaab: Plus Plus Minus'
iaab presents "Traces from iaab: Plus Plus Minus", an exhibition by Indian artist Tarun Jung Rawat who is currently on a residency in Basel. [dated September 2011]
iaab presents 'Traces from iaab: Plus Plus Minus', an exhibition by Indian artist Tarun Jung Rawat who is currently on a residency in Basel. The artists residing at the iaab exchange studio are invited by Dock, to use the space to exhibit their work under the initiative called ‘Traces from iaab’.
Opening: September 27, 7pm
Venue: Dock, Klybeckstr. 29, 4056 Basel
More: www.dock-basel.ch
Concept Note
Plus Plus Minus is a project that shuffles between being a book and and an artwork/a collection of artworks. Each page has the potential to be viewed either as a page in a book of visuals and text, or as an artwork which springs off the page and into a display space. The artworks are a collection of multilayered, kinetic and dynamic elements, collaged together by adding and taking away, a process of plus and minus. Some of these compositions the viewer can interact with as well, adding something here, or taking away something there to customize the artwork according to their own aesthetics, giving it their own meaning. Inspired by Joseph Beuy's statement 'Everyone is an Artist', it is an attempt to look at the personalization and explorative aspect of contemporary art, a sort of introduction to discovering and exploring art in a fun manner. As a visual language it combines aspects of Indian visual elements from our worlds of pop, kitch and folk art (elements that are easily identifiable with India), with visual elements that I have come across in Switzerland (not necessarily only Swiss), to create unique juxtapositions which shall become the pages of the book as well as artworks at the same time, shuffling between the 2 mediums. Swiss artist Dieter Roth's experimentations with the medium of the book and with printed matter as works of art, are an inspiration here as well.
The title of the project Plus Plus Minus, is quite self-explanatory. The first Plus being the Swiss symbol, the second Plus is the symbol for addition and the Minus being the symbol for subtraction. The book is about adding and taking away, a collage of thoughts, ideas and visuals, bringing together aspects of India and Switzerland. A book that, coming back to Joseph Beuy's statement, assumes 'Everyone is an Artist', and this belief becomes the springboard for this book as an art exploration adventure.
on the edge, an exhibition by Atul Bhalla
'on the edge', an exhibition by Atul Bhalla. The exhibition includes works done by the artist during his residency at iaab Basel. [dated September 2011]
Vadehra Art Gallery presents on the edge an exhibition by Atul Bhalla. The exhibition includes works done by the artist during his residency at iaab Basel.
Preview: September 3, 2011 | 6 pm
Vadehra Art Gallery D-178 Okhla Phase 1, New Delhi
On view until October 1, 2011 11 am - 7 pm | Monday to Saturday
Delhi-based Atul Bhalla is known for his sustained preoccupation with the eco-politics of water, which forms the basis for his diverse practice. Questioning the distribution, regulation, commodification and pollution of water, Bhalla has over the years explored its physical, historical, spiritual and political significance in relation to the population of New Delhi, his home city. Some describe Bhalla as an environmental activist, however his work may be considered not overtly political, instead socially concerned, engaging a poetic style of presentation. Bhalla describes his practice as an attempt to understand water, the way he perceives it, feels it, drinks it, swims in it and sinks in it. His personal negotiation of water provides a stage from which to address larger political issues concerning bodies of water and the urban environment. The exhibition showcases a selection of works that Bhalla has done since 2009 – locations differ from Basel to Varnasi, Beijing to Patna and artistic strategies shift from performance, to the use of found objects, from videos to photographic series.
For the piece ‘Basel Walk’ Bhalla undertook a three hour walk along the river Rhine, in Switzerland, photographing a number of valves embedded into the streets, used for controlling the flow of water. He offers the viewer a new perspective on commonplace objects, forcing us to engage with familiar bodies of water in new ways, at the same time developing ones relationship to the city. In another performance in Patna, Bhalla floated a bright yellow signage down the Ganga which read aaj bhi wahi sab hota raha (even today everything went on as usual). Shot from the impressive Mahatma Gandhi Setu bridge, one of the longest bridges in the world, the clearly legible signage is an ironic comment on the state of affairs in the state of Bihar and the country. About the artist: Born in 1964, Atul Bhalla lives and works in New Delhi, India.
Having studied Fine Art at Delhi University, India and Northern Illinois University, USA, Bhalla is known for his photographic work, although his interdisciplinary practice also includes paintings, sculptures, installations, photo performances and videos. Bhalla has exhibited internationally, most recently in ‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay: India through the eyes of Indian and French artists’, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France and ‘Water’, Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, USA.
Swiss artists-in-labs programme
The artists-in-labs programme is a collaboration between the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneshwar. [dated September 2011]
Swiss artists-in-labs programme
Supported by the Embassy of Switzerland and Pro Helvetia the artists-in-labs programme is a collaboration between the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneshwar.
This residency exchange programme will be conducted under the direction of the Artists in Labs research group at ZHdK. Within this pilot project Surekha Anil Kumar, an artist from India, will be a resident at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Zurich and Adrien Missika, an artist from Switzerland, will reside at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology - School of Biotechnology, Bhubaneswar.
Introduction Art and science constitute two cultures, which have really grown apart. The Swiss Artistsinlabs program is a cultural program devoted to current debates and discourses that can help art and science to gain a closer understanding of each other. The intention of the ail program is to share common goals, to broaden the dialogue, generate ideas and raise awareness of the contributions both artists and scientists can make to the larger challenges of our time. Providing a research environment where these experiments can take place makes all the difference. The ail co-operation with Swiss Science laboratories is a conscious attempt to encourage the development of the primary creative forces shared by both disciplines: the quest for interpretations of nature, matter and human desire as well as the interest to comprehend, explore, reveal, sustain, create and build.
The objectives of the residency programme are: to give artists the opportunity to be immersed inside the culture of scientific research in order to develop their interpretations and inspire their content. to allow the artists to have an actual “hands on” access to the solid raw materials, pertinent debates and scientific tools to encourage unique potentials and allow them to attend relevant lectures and conferences held by the scientists themselves. to help scientists gain some insight into the world of contemporary art, aesthetic development and the semiotics of communication that are used by artists in order to reach the general public. to encourage further collaboration between both parties including an extension of discourse and an exchange of research practices and methodologies.
Focus Science Disciplines: life sciences, physics, cognition, engineering and computing
Art Disciplines: art researchers-film, video, new media, sound art, sculpture, architecture, theatre and dance.
More: http://artistsinlabs.ch/lang/en/
Art Talks @ FICA Reading Room
Presentations by Indian artists Paribartana Mohanty and Sreejata Roy who have returned from Switzerland where they were on a residency at PROGR Berne and iaab, Basel respectively. [dated September 2011]
Pro Helvetia New Delhi and the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) cordially invite you to an evening of presentations by Indian artists Paribartana Mohanty and Sreejata Roy who have recently returned from Switzerland where they were on a residency at PROGR Berne and iaab, Basel respectively. Moderated by Maya Kovskaya, a Delhi- based scholar, art critic and curator, the presentations will be followed by discussions.
Date: Monday, 5 September 2011
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: FICA Reading Room, D-42 Defence Colony, New Delhi - 110024
Tel: +91-11-46594456
Entry: Open to all
About the artists:
Paribartana Mohanty is a Delhi-based artist, working in multiple mediums of video, performance, painting and sculpture. He is the recipient of FICA Emerging Artist Award 2010 and 'City as Studio' Sarai-CSDS Media Lab Associate Fellowship for Contemporary Art and Media Practices. His works are often fictive dialogues with eminent figures who have inspired and influenced him, or a place or a situation, or specific individuals representing a typology. Mohanty has participated in many curated group exhibitions, residencies and art fairs. He is also part of a collective 'WALA' that engages in public and community art projects and performance-events.
Sreejata Roy is an artist with a particular interest in community-related projects. From the time she completed her M.Phil. study in media art at the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry University, UK from 2001-2005, she has evolved a culturally embedded form of personal practice within her larger investigation of socio-cultural issues via oral history and ethnography, the narration of daily life, and the formation of subjectivity. She was awarded the FICA Public Art Grant in 2009 for the Park project that reshaped a community park in the resettlement colony Dakshinpuri, collaborating with the NGO, Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education. Currently she is a researcher for Indian Foundation for Arts project with Centre for Culture Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia University. Both Paribartana Mohanty and Sreejata Roy were awarded residencies in Switzerland by Pro Helvetia New Delhi as part of the FICA Emerging Artist Award and the Pro Helvetia Artist-in-Residency programme.
For more information visit: www.ficart.org
