Performance at Borella Bus Stop, Colombo, Srilanka, March 16th, 2015, Performed for First International Performance Festival.
“MAN is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself as the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they."
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Social Contract 1762.
When we go to a new place, usually we try to connect and understand people through their culture, customs, habits and also behavior and we try to mingle with them to become one among them. Constant thinking to become part of that land and be accepted or not, with all the barriers like Racism, Ethnic issues, Religious and political aspect involved. Taking que from this thought, did this performance an interactive one where audience were requested to give me small piece of earth in a sack bag or by applying clay on my body. Symbolically giving a small piece of earth, The act also denoted welcome gesture for me in the country.
The entire performance was an act that involved long ritualistic process, with more space to understand, accommodate, tolerate and respect other cultures and share the whole world without boundaries and rules that are man made. This performance brought out concerns in a larger context; also raised questions on various issues related to collective identity, the construction of urban spaces which are the result of rapid development of larger cities and reducing rural space. The urban cities lead to building our identity in more multicultural platform, where it leads to hybridization and mix of different cultures. Overall when we talk about the identity of an individual in larger context it becomes complex and stays as collective identity from this various sources.
The identity is formed by adding all this collective memories and become one come complex format of collective identity of individual. The views are also drawn from vantage point of cultural landscape one come from. So, for me this performance will mark an important platform for a cultural dialogue and also understanding and making space for different cultures in International platform. In this performance I have tried to blend various elements of both, cultures and essence of the place I come from and also adapting Sinhala Culture, by incorporating voice modulation of Sinhala language and collaborating with students to their voice in local language them in my work, S o I could make blending of cultures in totality.
Dimple B Shah
2015
“MAN is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself as the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they."
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Social Contract 1762.
When we go to a new place, usually we try to connect and understand people through their culture, customs, habits and also behavior and we try to mingle with them to become one among them. Constant thinking to become part of that land and be accepted or not, with all the barriers like Racism, Ethnic issues, Religious and political aspect involved. Taking que from this thought, did this performance an interactive one where audience were requested to give me small piece of earth in a sack bag or by applying clay on my body. Symbolically giving a small piece of earth, The act also denoted welcome gesture for me in the country.
The entire performance was an act that involved long ritualistic process, with more space to understand, accommodate, tolerate and respect other cultures and share the whole world without boundaries and rules that are man made. This performance brought out concerns in a larger context; also raised questions on various issues related to collective identity, the construction of urban spaces which are the result of rapid development of larger cities and reducing rural space. The urban cities lead to building our identity in more multicultural platform, where it leads to hybridization and mix of different cultures. Overall when we talk about the identity of an individual in larger context it becomes complex and stays as collective identity from this various sources.
The identity is formed by adding all this collective memories and become one come complex format of collective identity of individual. The views are also drawn from vantage point of cultural landscape one come from. So, for me this performance will mark an important platform for a cultural dialogue and also understanding and making space for different cultures in International platform. In this performance I have tried to blend various elements of both, cultures and essence of the place I come from and also adapting Sinhala Culture, by incorporating voice modulation of Sinhala language and collaborating with students to their voice in local language them in my work, S o I could make blending of cultures in totality.
Dimple B Shah
2015
