Articulating the Presence

Speakers: Shakuntala Kulkarni, Mitra Mukherjee-Parikh and Flavia Agnes
Discussant: Kaiwan Mehta

March 25, 2013 | 6.30 pm
Goethe Hall, Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai

Of Bodies, Armour, Cages is a recent project by the artist, Shakuntala Kulkarni that engages with questions of the presence of a human being/body in public space. The self is always floating within many contexts – social, legal, historical as well as the personal network of memories. How, and in what way do we articulate our presence within these networks and environments?

In this project, Kulkarni elaborately dresses the body, the self is enhanced through an act of design and extension, but also one could say, bracing and protective layering. Kulkarni has been fascinated by the very structure and grandeur of metal or leather armour: masculine and peerless in nature that was used in wars. In this project, she uses cane as an organic material to create beautifully crafted armours that protect the body and also break the gaze through the joineries of the cane and weave.

Interrogating the notions of protection and trap, the body is exaggerated and introduced into the everyday lives of many other bodies, the city and its spaces and the personal terrain of the neighbourhood. A narrative of existence, presence, intervention and being emerges through performative gestures.

This panel discussion aims to discuss the many pertinent narratives that emerge from this artistic thought process and journey of the artist.

Shakuntala Kulkarni is an artist who works through the mediums of painting, photography, installations and performance. She lives and works in Mumbai.
Mitra Mukherjee Parikh is Associate Professor and Head at the Department of English, SNDT University, Mumbai.
Flavia Agnes is a lawyer based in Mumbai. She is one of the founder members of Majlis that works in the areas of gender, rights discourse and culture.
Kaiwan Mehta is an architect and urban researcher based in Mumbai. He is also Managing Editor at Domus India.