Arts
Disembodied
Aartists have always been fascinated by the human form. It has been subjected to a myriad of interpretations. But what is the body, stripped of its identities such as age and gender? What stories could it tell us?
Deconstruct the Embody is a ‘live art’ exhibition jointly presented by the Mesh Academy of Dance and Malaka Premasiri. The exhibition, using the human form, will tell a dark and gritty tale through the mediums of dance and photography. Photographed by Malaka Premasiri, and choreographed by Umeshi Rajeendra, the duo hope the collaboration will inspire others to attempt their own interdisciplinary creations.
The exhibited photographs start out with a single figure covered in fabric, sharp and ominous. As the photos progress, the figures become warped and blurry. Towards the end shadows that look almost like wafts of smoke surround the figures. “Almost like a spirit,” Malaka comments. A heavy emphasis on shadows and lighting is seen, and together with the use of long exposure ensure the photographs are dark in appearance as well as in theme.
However, the photographs are only part of the exhibition, exhibited in conjunction with dances. These will be performed at various points of the tour of the exhibition, in a true display of live art. Whether the dancers are interpreting or merely reflecting the exhibit pieces is up to the audience to decide according to Umeshi, the founder and artistic director of the Mesh Academy of Dance. She encourages the audience members to move among the dancers and the exhibit pieces and respond to them accordingly. “The angle from which they’ll look at it will give them different perceptions of what the movement is,” she states. The dances will be in the style of western contemporary dance and will feature nine dancers from the Mesh Academy of Dance.
Both Umeshi and Malaka have been tight-lipped about the theme and story line, not wanting to reveal too much and colour the audience’s perception. But when asked about their choice of theme, which Umeshi describes as only eerie, Malaka says “the theme just came to us while we were chatting, and it clicked”. The human body is a prop and the fabric was the canvas according to the duo. Malaka describes how they took great care to edit out details which denote gender, age and the identity of the photographed subjects, which he describes as distractions.
Umeshi Rajeendra
To perform such a dark story line, a great deal of emotional investment is required. One, in which in order to satisfy must be drawn from a personal place. Understanding this Umeshi tell us how she channelled the emotions towards life and death after the recent loss of her father, into the performance.
This is not the first time Umeshi and Malaka have worked together. Malaka, a former ad guy turned full time photographer, captured Mesh Academy of Dance’s inaugural show ‘Genesis’. Umeshi is also the subject of Malaka’s five year project that documents the life of a dancer, both on and off the stage.
The concept of interdisciplinary forms of art being performed is still foreign to us. Having done a show similar to this exhibition whilst in the United States, Umeshi, who is a graduate of the Denison University in USA, was keen to bring the concept back home. “ I want to show the value of artistic collaboration,” she states, noting that though there has been progress in the Sri Lankan art scene, it still lacked interesting dance content. She hopes this performance will remedy this, and inspire dancers and choreographers in the island to innovate and go beyond the traditional dance platforms.
The performance will take place on March 31, April 1, and April 2, at the Lionel Wendt Main Gallery, from 6.45 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 8.45 p.m. each night. Umeshi, along with the dancers Niren Ranasinghe, Annabella Brochard, Roshni Gunaratne, Romesh Fernando, Onara De Silva, Anna Peter, Sandarangi Perera, and Hope Lofgren Schmidt are scheduled to perform. Tickets, priced at Rs. 800 are available at the Lionel Wendt. The exhibition sans performance, will be open during the day with a minimum donation of Rs 250, for those wishing to donate.
For reservations or for more details regarding the exhibition and show please contact Umeshi on 0778415110 or Malaka on 0772660045.