Of donkeys, demons and diabolical death Written by Subodh Kerkar Sunday, 15 November 2009 01:26
The sea is my master, my muse and my medium. The sea has inspired a number of my installations and the seashore has often become my canvas. It was a coincidence that the terror attack on Mumbai emerged from the ocean. So, it was not surprising that I made use of the seashore to create installations as my response to the events of 26/11. My socio-political concerns find a voice in my works. The terror attack on Mumbai, apart from evoking anger, also made me contemplate on issues connected with Indo-Pak relationship, religious fanaticism and the rise of terrorism. A lot of blood has flown at the altars of religious fanaticism during and after the trauma of partition. We need to re-examine the issue as individuals and as a nation so that the plural fabric of the country is re-affirmed. A nation that desires to make great strides on many global frontiers cannot afford to nurture communalist factious politics. Of Donkeys, Demons and Diabolical Death is an artistic, psychological and socio-political enquiry into the terror attacks on Mumbai. The terrorists, most of them in their twenties came to Mumbai in an ochre-coloured inflatable dinghy in order to enact the dance of death. That dinghy was the vehicle of terror. On the internet I saw the picture of the original dinghy, now in the custody of Mumbai police. I decided to create an object based on this dinghy with the hoof of Satan and moving red lights in her belly. An icon of the terror attacks on Mumbai! Terrorists are not Muslims or Hindus. They are a blot on the religion that they claim to represent. Terrorism is their only religion. They are robots not just robots but robots with donkey-heads who are brainwashed and programmed by the satanic forces that hide away safely. I made ten donkey masks in fiberglass and some replicas of AK-47s. I worked with Affsar Hussain and his team of actors from Kala Academy, Goa. We enacted a choreographed dance of death on Morjim beach. Most of my installation pictures are the product of that brilliant performance by the talented actors. I poured some red pigment in a puddle of water at Goa Velha beach. I was studying the effects and clicking pictures when, out of nowhere, an enormous fighter buffalo appeared on the scene. It was a sheer co-incidence. The he-buffalo is the vehicle of Yama, the God of death. The animal posed for me majestically in my puddle of red paint. This is the era of telecommunication and terrorism. Terrorists use electronic telecommunication equipments to achieve their goals. Paradoxically, terrorism can be considered a product of non-communication, or a breakdown in our ability to connect with others. I have used electronic circuit boards, representing telecommunication for my paintings and objects. The donkey head also appears in my works. This exhibition is also my appeal to the sensitivity and sensibility of people to discard communalism. I hope and believe that the sea, which brought in terrorists, will also bring to the shores the souvenir of sensitivity and humaneness. Gods and demons once churned the sea using a serpent as a rope to precipitate amrit, the elixir of immortality. All communities in India need to work harmoniously to help churn out the amrit of communal harmony from the ocean of their being. The exhibition will be held on November 19 from 6.30 - 8.30 p.m. at the Kerkar Art Complex. It will then carry forward to Gallery Beyond, Mumbai from the November 23 Nov to December 12 http://www.navhindtimes.in/buzz/5130-of-donkeys-demons-and-diabolical-death