In an attempt to break away from the usual canvas format of displaying art, seven Israeli artists are bringing their video art to the city on February 6, in collaboration with contemporary artists from Mumbai Glocal, an art collective of nine artists. The exhibit, themed 'Earth', is free, and people can interact with the artists. It is being held at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Colaba at 3.30 pm on Friday.
In an attempt to break away from the usual canvas format of displaying art, seven Israeli artists are bringing their video art to the city on February 6, in collaboration with contemporary artists from Mumbai Glocal, an art collective of nine artists. The exhibit, themed 'Earth', is free, and people can interact with the artists. It is being held at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Colaba at 3.30 pm on Friday.
Many of the artists are coming to Mumbai for the first time. Jacob MacMillan, a 53-year-old Israeli architect is returning after 20 years. He is also co-curating the show. His father was born in Mumbai and left it in 1963.
Explaining his video art, MacMillan said: “It has me swaying with Arab dance moves to a Hindi movie song at my apartment in Israel. The movie is 'Sangam' by Raj Kapoor, and my father watched it here in Mumbai at Edison Cinema.”
“Whenever someone asks me what I am doing, I respond saying that I'm dancing with the spirit that takes care of the house,” said Macmillan over the phone as he is currently touring Baroda and Gujarat with the artists. Their next stop after Mumbai, is Paris and before returning to Israel.
He explained that the concept of 'Earth' was chosen to reflect the artist's conflict with his art, as well as the place they are living in. “Earth is the border between life and death. The artists are trying to show their views on the 'promised land' where Roni Ari (one of the artists) shows a video art on rocks and the process of bombing of mountains to cutting the rocks and their travel to Palestine,” said MacMillan, who approached Raj More, who leads Mumbai Glocal, to help him out with setting up an exhibit in the city.
He added that people don't see the co-operation that exists between Israel and Palestine. “Chanchal Banga is from India and is displaying video art on immigration. We decided to come to India with our work because this country is a huge part of Israel's culture,” the 53-year-old said.
Other leading artists include the likes of Doron Polak, Norman Drimmer, Rajul Mehta and Suly Wolff.
Raj More has been planning this for over a month, and this is the second time he has collaborated on such an event with foreign artists through Mumbai Glocal.
More is a painter himself who doesn't use brushes, but instead uses knives and big tools to paint his contemporary art on the city. “These video art pieces are not documentaries. It is the expression of the artists in their own way. They're all less than 7 minutes. This is art beyond the canvas, where they are bringing their ethos in a creative manner and displaying visual art. There will be a QnA session where the audience can ask the artists questions about this format and more. These artists' work have been showcased in many countries and major galleries across the world,” said More, who himself has won the Lalit Kala Akademi award and the Asia Art Award.
Manjiri Thakoor, deputy curator of NGMA said that the artists have expanded their boundaries and the audience should come and appreciate a new type of art and a different interpretation of artists.
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