Public Performance Symposium- Out of Site Chicago

A Lecture by 

Dimple B Shah 
Live Art in Bangalore ( Karnataka, South India ) 

Formation, Development, and Expansion 

https://www.flowsymposium.org/lectures 

The talk focused on performance art/ live art its initial years of developments from Installations, experimental movements in public spaces with social concerns as a major area of concern it matured state, and expansion over the span of two decades. 

The Performance art scene in Bangalore (Karnataka) became visible and grew organically since 2000. Bangalore in Karnataka has become the nucleus for Performance Art in India. The Bangalore art scene has always been known for its experimental approaches be it Installation art, Performance Art, or New Media art, It is pioneered as the most happening place in India. we could observe a good deal of groundwork and mature evolution of the performance art scene in Bangalore. With numerous experiments in public spaces, those were based largely on social issues as a core concern. Many artists participated in these events doing both interactive and installation work. Bangalore has made a major contribution to this field right from its early period. These attempts resulted in bringing forth new materials, forms, language, and space. Individualist, collaborative, and connecting with land, communities, and public spaces – artists of Bangalore with determination and restlessness responded to their inner calls. Not only installations but also Performance and Sound art found expressions here in those early times.

Dimple B Shah 23rd April 2021 

A Ritual of Transcendence –Finding a Divinity Within

Virtual Matter(S)

Performance Art  Online Series

Curated by Kathie Halfin

Hive Art Community, Newyork USA
Jan 16th, 2021

My Performance was selected for Performance Art online series and it was second lined up after Susan Luss and Kate Quardfort and followed by Patricia Correa
I performed 'A Ritual of Transcendence –Finding a Divinity Within'  on 16th early morning at 6am India Time 2021

The idea was to bring transforming experience in others even if it one a true performance act when we initiate and transform and one to experience and transcendence make an experiential provoke thoughts emotions with our body action. During this pandemic period, it is become difficult to have intimate and close interaction with our audiences and thus making it difficult to make it physically experiential. I feel there is still a potential of transforming through online interaction and make it experiential work although it is difficult but not impossible. The approach to this transformative act will change a bit for an online audience. The Pandemic has forced people to cut out from social gatherings and spaces, having an adverse effect on the psychology of human beings. We being a social animal it is vital to have to connect the outer world get support both morally and Psychological during this difficult time. For this project, my idea is to bring in the divine element in the central perspective which is cathartic healing and transforming.

Many pre-pandemic works have been one-to-one interactive performance work share ritual and shamanistic practice with my audiences. I have done several experiments in the whole of 2020 with online performance with this experience I have a grasp-in bringing experiential elements through my ritual acts. I have done several performance interventions responding reacting and contemplating the immediate situation encountered both psychologically and philosophically. Finding contemplating space within these territories of everyday rituals transcend both physical and mental space by finding deeper meaning in the ritual act of filtering both conscious and subconscious mind.

I come from Jain and Hindu family that follow several rituals to introspect within us and find the divinity within us for much peace and healing. These rituals are engrossing in the act and Cathartic and healing in nature, even if one who watches it can enter that state. I metaphorically use the same philosophy to see doing Ritual act transforming the space and time and beyond. I usually build my workspace for each performance to enhance and make it more engaging and experiential to attain that particular state for my audience.

For this performance Also I built my own space which created an ambiance for contemplation. it was an attempt a performative intervention that brought varied layers in these spaces of folding and unfolding both Conscious and subconscious states of mind. it was a sound-based performative work for a 15 minutes online performance.

With New normal people are persistently spending most of the time in virtual spaces, Losing contact with oneself by which forget to find divinity within. We get lost excessively in information and online material of entertainment we lose touch with ourselves and my attempt through performance was to see the life and spirit within with a positive attitude and seeing Divinity within.

Dimple B Shah Jan 2021

Breathing Future- Crossover 2020-2021

Crossover 2020-2021 全球跨越 2020-2021 

Performed on 6th January 2021  Live Zoom Performance 

Indian female artist Dimple B Shah, dressed in a white lab coat, was conducting scientific research by holding a magnifying glass. In the white gauze cloud surrounded by layers, she blows white balloons one by one (the balloon shows the word "Extinction"), Blowing, squeezing, kinking, deforming, some swelling and exploding, some half-way frustrated with a desperate cry, and some make an unbearable cry of heart-cracking, and finally a warning appears The red balloon expanded, the warning lights flashed, and the red crisis filled the entire space, as if the universe was about to burst, suffocating people. .... Everything went back to zero, cows, sheep and plants appeared, and the only remaining human nature was stored in the closed and transparent Noah's Ark. At this time, amidst the mist-filled vast waste and almost invisible objects, a closed space capsule maintained the only remaining green plants, implying that human beings can only live in a closed environment with oxygen in the future. The situation set by the artist Shah, and the in-depth expression of human beings facing the plight, is intended to continuously arouse our current human thinking and concern about the future. 

Cai Qing Jan 9. 2021

印度女艺术家Dimple B Shah, 身着白色服装严然一个科研人员手持放大镜，在层层环绕的白纱云雾中，她一个接一个地吹着白色的气泡（气球上显出“毁灭”的字样），吹起、挤压，纽曲、变形，有的澎涨而暴炸，有的半路泄气发出绝望的呼声，更有发出令人不堪忍受的嘶心裂肺的叫声的，最终出现一个警示的红色气球，它渐渐大起来，警灯闪烁，危机涨满了整个空间，如同宇宙即将破裂，让人窒息。.....一切归零，出现牛、羊和植物，将人类仅存的自然存放入封闭透明的诺亚方舟。这时，在雾气弥漫，几乎看不见物象的苍茫的废虚上，一个封闭的空间胶囊中，维护着仅存的一点绿色的植物，寓意人类今后只能在封闭的环境中有氧可活。由艺术家Saha设置的局，和不断深入的，面对我们人类面临的困境的表达，意在不断地引起我们当下人类对未来的思考和关注。

Outside Frame -Natak Company

Lock Unlock Performance Art Project 11 

22. December 2020

Concept Note by Dagmar I. Glausnitzer-Smith

Glimpses behind Isolation

Visual material is assembled, collaged and controlled in these days of presentations via the virtual channels. The preparations regress to an intense aesthetic and composed image production. 

How can this be interrupted and directed towards another perspective, revealing details of ‘Self’ in the intimate sphere, which in any way stays hidden to the unrecognizable (zoom)spectator. Details, materials and objects which may have been captured before in physical, public space, now have been edited away from the site of Performance Activity.

How does the artist’s expectation level, these days influence the operating virtual eye?

Extended: Mieke Bal, The Mottled Screen: Reading Proust Visually, Marcel Proust, Optical Instruments, Stamford, 1997. chapter 5, p69 pp

“Even those who commended my perception of the truths which I wanted eventually engrave within the temple, congratulated me on having discovered them with a microscope’, when on the contrary it was a telescope that I used to observe things which were indeed very small to the naked eye, but only because they were situated at a great distance, and which were each one of them is itself a world.”

Yusufduradola

HectorCanonge

DagmarIGlausnitzerSmith

dimplebshah

InderSalim

Satadru Sovan

Mukesh Singh 

My work presented for this event was 

Outside Frame- Natak Company

For this Lock Unlock Series, In the last minute of the event, one artist could not perform, I took the opportunity to participate do the final performance for the year 2020. I started preparing in my mind while I was on the way home - first thing when I read Dagmar's Note first impressions were random things which we do outside the frame of zoom like backstage work which usually does not come in front while performing. I thought of bringing in on this core idea in my Performance work. Bring all my costumes, objects of performance, curtains, colourful cloths on the forefront. Unplanned I wanted it to be spontaneous of unlocking unpacking my materials live and spontaneously working out with it. There were different jackets, wig, headgears, dolls, woollen rolls every few minutes I was changing my costume and headgears it was an attempt to bring alter-ego on the front row. I enjoyed the process and the outcome. I responded to Dagmar's concept aptly as per my perception chaotic backstage work, Original work behind the actual performance and for me that itself is kind of real performance work Brainstorming confused random and abstract trying to match the thinking for the creation of new work.

Dimple B Shah 22nd December 2020

Secret Colloquy

Be-Coming Tree

Be-coming Tree live art event via Zoom


Online event 31st Oct 2020

This performance is about the relationship between me and the plant. As per science and Jain philosophy plants have one sense with which they feel the emotion and react like if you play a song they enjoy and flourish. I want to engage with the plant to have a secret conversation an offering of prayer to them.

Holy Basil (Tulsi sacred Plant is my Special Plant) 

Basil is viewed as a living gateway (Threshold between heaven and earth, and regarded as the manifestation of the divine within the plant kingdom. 

I have learnt if one observe and contemplate with a humble plant which has the healing aroma and medicinal properties imbibe the feminine energy internalize a manifestation of Goddess in the process.

 

Prayer Of Shaman- Encountering Catharsis

The Quarantine Concerts -Dimple B Shah

1 October 2020

Performance for Out of Site Curated By Carron Little

Prayer of a Shaman Encountering Catharsis

Ho mother! Mother Nature Mother, Earth, Mother womb...

I sow the seven seeds for you...

I try to connect with you...

I carry your weapon in my arms...

I grind the holy medicine...

To heal .to cleanse and to fight...Both inward outward

Reach out inner and outer world….

I speak to you in a language you only understand …..

The language of my soul the language of eternal world ….

I know you are everywhere….

One needs to connect …. One needs to realize ….

The presence….. ho Mother!

 

Prayer of a Shaman – Encountering Catharsis is performance shamanistic ritual act. It is to establish an image of the pandemic goddess who is a healer. Performer attempts to embody the body through a ritual turning into the Pandemic Goddess. The performer body facilitates transmuting the message to her and in the process becoming Goddess herself. The healing happens through various herbal plants usually my performance deals with my audience through one to one interaction since every individual has their own psychological and emotional and physical concerns. My work is built inspired by the reference of goddess image from my cultural roots but not directly portray it just hinting to my connection.

There are a lot of alchemical and medicinal plants used in my performance – like Sacred Plants which are curative and have a lot of health benefits Neem Leaves, (Tulsi) Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), Kama Kasturi l ( Ocimum basilicum). Tumbe plant (Leucas Aspera)

and also I shared lemon tea Recipe for healing

I had started my ritual

A week before the actual performance for

Sacred healing. I soaked 7 grain for goddesses and sprouted and planted it. These grains constitute to Goddess. it is an offering to evoke her to invite her to our ritual. It is a spiritual journey for me. The prayer is my language to communicate and performed during the performance. The performance had also impromptu of some prayers overlapping. The sound of grinding the broomstick which is a weapon for healing the clay pot the incense sticks and the clay pot with light ( womb of mother goddess) I wished it was in actual space than in virtual world this space had to experience it was an experiential element in it

https://ess.org/the-quarantine-concerts

Dimple B Shah 1st  October 2020