KOCHI:
It was just prior to sunset on Saturday when Nicola Durvasula began adorning the floor of her artist space at Pepper House with what appeared to be ‘Kolam’ patterns. The packed room was reverberating with musical notes played in sync with her brush strokes.
The live sound performance marked the first time Durvasula – a sculptor and participating artist at
“Though I have painted in two dimensions on paper and canvas, it is my maiden 3-D artwork. Even though the medium was new to me, I thought performing live without any prior practice session would lend a more organic feel to the event. It was trial and error,” she said.
Adding to the event’s off-beat feel was the use of a cowdung carpet over a section of the floor. Durvasula and her assistant Deepak Johny, a KMB 2016 volunteer, first put down large dots on the carpet using paintbrushes dipped in rice batter. She then drew curved lines to connect the dots in shapes that were inspired by, but were not, traditional Kolam designs.
“Though I was aware of this traditional art form, the idea of performing Kolam struck me when I recently visited Tamil Nadu. I am always interested to know about lines and their appearance on various surfaces. That prompted me to try out this art form,” Durvasula said. “I am now planning to take this to other international shows as well.”
A group of young amateur musicians strummed, plinked and drummed in response to the drawing. The gig had come to Arun S. Kumar (percussion), Ajoy Jose (keyboard), Manu Ajayan (bass) and Syam N. Pai (guitar) out of the blue. It was the first time they had performed in live conversation with an artwork.
“It was an amazing experience. The only advice Nicola gave us was that there should be periodical pauses for total silence and then a restart of the music. She also wanted us to alternate between playing loud and slow music during the show,” Pai said.
Another unscripted moment was the introduction of flautist Marion Kenny, who stepped into the performance area – off the street as it were – with her concert flute.
“I was totally involved in the music. The process of responding, between the drawing and playing, went both ways. It was a surprise to hear humming from a flute and looking up to see Marion. Her music transformed the ambience of the space and performance,” Durvasula said.
The surprise addition was in keeping with the unstructured theme Durvasula had intended for the performance. Not only was the music played off-key on purpose, but the artwork itself was a conscious departure from the demands of the form.
“The lines and drawing had to come from within in response to the music and the other way round. Outside of this requirement, there was no clear outlined plan for the performance,” said Durvasula, whose Biennale artworks had been produced in dialogue with pianist John Tilbury.
Nicola and John will perform together in March during Closing Week celebrations.
