From quirky artwork to a feature film, the Navinland Cinema show has it all, says Sanghamitra Bhowmik
If Shakespeare asked Thai-born Navin Rawanchaikul “What’s in a name?”, the answer would be an art project, a movement, an exploration of the self and the theme of his latest show, Navinland Cinema.
Rawanchaikul presents a mix of cinema, installation art, paintings and photographs, “the story of my life told through the numerous Navins,” says the artist. His Hindu-Punjabi origins and an old letter to his mother signed: ‘Navin, Mumbai’, make the starting point. The exhibition includes installations by Rawanchaikul’s Navin Production Co Ltd, a Bollywood-style ten minute film titled Navins of Bollywood and paintings and photographs from Quotation from Comrade Navin and The Lost Kingdom of Navin.
The sculpture of Rawanchaikul on a multi-hued scooter and the one of him holding a placard asking “Who is Navin?” demand attention. The Bollywood-style posters of the many films produced by his company and photographs of his journey hold interesting accents of the artist’s personal discovery with his quirky style and attitude to art.
“I have always been concerned about the position of artists in society and how best to communicate our ideas. That’s why my projects involve the community, with visible images of the artist (me) and my interactions,” says Rawanchaikul, whose “journey to discover my roots” started as a diaspora project for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in 2006.
Navinland Cinema has travelled from Tokyo to Bangkok, Paris to China and now from Seoul to India. “The ‘Navin’ of Asia becomes ‘Nabin’ in Seoul and ‘Narvin’ in the US. Over the years, the name has presented itself to me in various ways. Each Navin has a story representing a society with its own political, economic and social realities,” explains Rawanchaikul. He chose Navins to tell the story of North and South Korea and hopes to explore the fate of Katrina survivors through the life of Narvin, a Black American jazz musician from New Orleans.
In Bermuda shorts and flip flops Rawanchaikul could easily pass as a holidaying NRI. But his enthusiasm to reinvent and unite the Navins is nothing short of a movement. A website for Navins, a party for like-minded Navins called Navin Party and a production house to make films on Navins — all Rawanchaikul’s idea “of meeting, educating and involving people in art”.
Navinland Cinema, Sakshi Art Gallery, until April 12
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