A landscape of memories | Deccan Herald
The high-tech revolution that has engulfed the world over the decades has shed new light on the performing arts ecosphere. Artists around the world are using the most advanced digital channels to express their love for the arts and Jayachandran Palazhy is no different either. In fact, the artistic director of the Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts has always been a pioneer when it comes to digital arts and with his latest production ‘Sthavara-Jangama’, which was recently staged in the city as a opening act of the 10th Attakkalari in progress. Biennale of India, it has once again proven itself.
“Sthavara-Jangama”, meaning moving and immobile objects in Sanskrit, explored the intangible relationship between human beings and the physical spaces and structures around us. “Vachana poets like Allama Prabhu spoke in particular about how to value our experiences more than materialistic possessions. This is particularly relevant in these times of Covid where many people have lost loved ones and many, like migrant workers, have even become dispossessed,” says Jayachandran. “For many home became a place of refuge while for some it was also a prison – a place of work, tension and trauma.”
All of these facts and the challenges humanity is facing thanks to the pandemic were merged into a dazzling dance production that shone with live music, dance and digital imagery. “I wanted to connect the dots between the past and the future, literature and performing arts, history and contemporary times,” he reveals. While the production showed people’s trials and tribulations, it was not just about “sorrow and misfortune” as Jayachandran puts it: “Landscapes and images are the repositories of memories and humans are the carriers of these souvenirs. The production also focused on this relationship that we share with spaces and landscapes.
The collaborative effort featured the likes of renowned Kannada poet, playwright and scholar HS Shivaprakash who served as the consultant and advisor. Award-winning musicians MD Pallavi and Bindhumalini composed the music while Germany-based award-winning theater director and digital artist Christian Zieglar created the digital imagery, which depicts ancient architectural marvels of South India, in particularly the Vijayanagara empire transforming into restless images of today’s urban landscapes. . “It was a walking show that started on the roof of the Bangalore International Center and ended at the theatre, offering viewers a little journey through time and space,” Jayachandran informs.
A bunch of acts
The tenth biennial of Attakkalari India (December 2021-February 2022) features dance companies from over a dozen countries, including Switzerland, Korea, Norway, UK, Australia, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, which collaborate with their Indian counterparts to cut peak performances and masterclasses. The hybrid program also features a concoction of on-stage performances, studio and online workshops, film screenings and lectures.
Speaking of technology playing an imperative role in the arts world, Jayachandran says, “Our way of thinking has changed with the internet. AI and biotechnology are also changing the way we perceive art. Performances are an imaginary world and with wood, metal or plaster of Paris, you can only work chronologically. Digital art, on the other hand, allows everything to be conducted in a non-linear way. It helps us to create metaphors, images and patterns that can transform the place into a completely different place. »
The Attakkalari Center in Bengaluru has always been a digital arthouse that has been synonymous with the best. Expressing his dreams for the future, he says, “We are trying to create another center for innovation in the performing arts. With more and more people becoming interested in the connection between traditional wisdom and the performing arts, we aim to teach the art forms in an accessible format as we may not all have 20 years to learn them. thoroughly.