Trans Studio Project 3.0 Exhibition
BAC Trans Studio Project 3.0 Residency (21st of May – 8th of June 2018)
BAC Trans Studio Project 3.0 Exhibition (8th – 12th of June 2018)
On Friday, the 8th of June, the Trans Studio Project 3.0 exhibition opened to the public. This event was a great success, with opening night attracting over 100 visitors. This exhibition was the culmination of the collaboration and hard work of the Trans Studio Project 3.0 participants. The Bikalpa Art Centre would like to thank Mahim Singh, Rahul Thapa, Pablo Lopez, and Samrat Silwal Singh for their hard work and commitment to the TSP3.0.
The Trans Studio Project is a three-week intensive transdisciplinary project, that aims to connect professionals from a myriad of different disciplines, too, in the spirit of collaboration, use collective wisdom to produce individual works of art. The Trans Studio Project 3.0 – the third iteration of this project – brought together four professionals – a writer, an installation artist, a visual artist/musician and a performance artist – to experiment, explore and push the boundaries of their practices through teaching and learning. The theme of TSP3.0 explored social-political and environmental issues facing contemporary Nepal through mixed-medium installation pieces. With each artist showcasing their interpretation of this broad theme: exploring the plight of street children, water pollution, waste segregation, and the ephemeral cycle of life.
Curated by Saroj Mahto & Bronte Isabella.
Following is the brief introduction of artists and their projects
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Pablo Lopez – Visual Artist: Australia
Pablo Lopez is a visual artist/musician joining us from Melbourne, Australia. Pablo was introduced to traditional painting methods and techniques while undertaking a Diploma of Visual Arts and continued with a Bachelor of Fine Arts to expand his studio practice. During his Bachelors, Pablo conceptually developed as a painter, through experimenting with different mediums (acrylic paint, spray paint, earth materials, etc.), scale, and style.
After graduating, Pablo has continued to strive for artist growth through experimentation. Taking up a year-long project with established sculptural artist Louis Laumen. From working with Louis, he was introduced to the process and methods used in traditional sculpture. Pablo then had the opportunity to work in a foundry for a short time. Pablo’s concern for the environment and sense of uncertainty is a theme that hopefully translates through the Trans Studio Project 3.0 (TSP3.0), where Pablo will continue to learn through experimentation with painting, sculpture or installation.
Pablo is eager to participate in the TSP3.0, as it will afford him the opportunity to collaborate with other artists and contribute to the local community while visiting Nepal.
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Everythin’ has a place, and there’s a place for everythin’ by Pablo Lopez
The installation guides you through a tangle of electric cables precariously propped up by irregularly-placed bamboo poles. This work is a response to the surrounding environment and global ecological concerns. The cables – a reflection of the Kathmandu streetscape – suggest the entanglement and complicity of solving environmental issues. Like the cables, we are struggling to find a path to a sustainable future, and if we do not change our actions, we are facing the possibility of failing, falling.
The unsteady and twisted construction leads to a room with non-descriptive walls, emblazoned with Everythin’ has a place, and there’s a place for everythin’. At the center of the room, two wooden pillars emerge from a pile of dirt balancing two glasses, representing choice:
Glass A contains murky water, flecked with discarded waste.
Glass B contains purified drinking water.
This installation makes you question, which glass would you choose? Logically, we would all choose Glass B. If we were to drink Glass A, we would likely become very sick. However, through unconsidered choices of disposal, the future of Kathmandu is likely heading towards Glass A.
The water in Glass A mirrors the Bagmati river, poisoned by our daily negligence; While the clear, drinkable water, in Glass B represents a possible future in which we respect our environment by disposing of our waste responsibly.
Landfills with unrestricted waste disposal create toxins that sink into the soil. These toxins then contaminate groundwater. If we as a global and local community fail to nurture our environment, a natural resource essential to life, water, will become unusable. Each of us needs to critically examine the choices we make as consumers and members of society.
If we work together, we can choose the future Glass B offers.
Mahima Singh – Performance and Mixed Medium Installation Artist: Nepal
Mahima Singh is a visual artist, who is currently working in the mediums of performance, portraiture, and installation art. She is inspired by the uncertainty and violence she sees in the world, her work is particularly influenced by natural disasters, disease, violence, and terrorism. We see these acts of horrific violence on the news and in real-life every day; Mahima’s work reflects on the toll this has on the fragility of human life. Her latest project (2017 to present) is a series of postmortem portraits of those who passed away in the April 2015 earthquake. These mixed-medium portraits question our materialistic world and showcase the impermanence of life.
Mahima holds Masters of Fine Arts from the Korea National University of Art, South Korea. Her work has been shown in two solo exhibitions, Spontaneity and Control in DM gallery and The Rain in Godo Gallery, both in Seoul, South Korea in 2012.
Mahima is excited to be a part of Trans Art Studio project 3.0, as it will afford her the opportunity to collaborate and discuss her ideas with people working in different disciplines. She hopes to learn from all the workshops, interactions and presentations from professionals of different backgrounds to enhance her work and to grow as an artist.
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Wilful Destruction by Mahima Singh
Whatever comes from nature goes back to nature. Impermanence is the permanent cycle of the universe. To portray this idea through installation art, the artist has created a spiral shape symbolizing the universe suspended 6ft above a mandala which symbolizes the earth. The mandala is made from colored sand, with each of the five colors representing one of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. The five elements are a part of our daily lives and are regarded as the foundation of everything in the universe. Connecting the universe above and the earth below is a triangle suspended on a string. The triangle represents humanity. When the triangle moves the crisp clean lines of the colorful mandala will be destroyed, and through this destruction, a new and unknown creation will be constructed. This installation is a literal representation of the ephemeral cycle of life and humanity’s destruction/construction participation in this cycle.
Rahul Thapa – Installation Artist: Nepal
Rahul Thapa is a contemporary visual artist working with various art mediums, primarily: videography and wood installation. Rahul creates temporal works of art, inspired by the ephemerality of nature. His work is influenced by the human psyche, creating works that reflect conflicting and confounded emotional experiences. He has previously worked on the themes of Creation, Duality, and the Five elements of nature; however, Rahul is currently looking to step out of his comfort zone and experiment with creating art that is less visual, and more sensory.
Rahul has a passion for drawing, photography, and filmography. He currently works as an Art director for films, creating visual storyboards. A long-term aspiration of Rahul’s is to tell great stories through film and/or animation.
When asked why he chooses to participate in this project, Rahul stated that “I am very excited to participate in the Trans Studio Project 3.0 because this project is giving me an opportunity to closely collaborate with other fellow practitioners from different fields, learn from each other as well as giving us support and the environment for us to realize our artworks.”
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Back to Blue by Rahul Thapa
The artist presents to you a recreation of Kathmandu, made entirely from repurposed and recycled materials. This installation uses both audio and visual elements to create an immersive multi-sensory experience. The montage of footage, projected in the background of the installation, juxtaposes real-world examples of both clean and contaminated water in Kathmandu. The sound of water echoes throughout the space on a constant loop. From the sounds of a flowing river to washing clothes, the variety of sound samples emphasizes how essential clean water is to our everyday lives. The text in the windows of the houses signposts the different ways we use water. The box houses – tightly packed together and artificially colored – represent the boxed up lives we live, comfortably inside our homes, ignoring the harsh reality of life outside our doors, willfully ignorant. The meandering black lines disrupt the uniformity of the “box-city.” The black lines represent the rivers of Kathmandu, physically demonstrating the close and tenacious relationship between the city and nature.
Nepal is the second richest country of water in the world. And yet, much of this water has become unusable and is now poisoning the very land and people it is meant to nourish. Kathmandu is the capital city and the heart of Nepal. The rivers are the decaying veins of this heart. With waste clogging and contaminating the water, Kathmandu is a sick city.
Samrat Singh Silwal – Writer: Nepal
Samrat describes himself as “a confused soul, waiting for inspiration. Currently finding my way through this mess called life.” The Trans Studio Project 3.0 is Samrat’s first foray into visual art. However, he has a strong background in writing, a passion for photography and interest in movies.
Samrat recently graduated from the Kathmandu University with a Bachelors of Business Administration. Upon reflection, Samrat describes his university experience as “uninspiring” and has decided to take a different and less conventional path in life. He is currently working as a freelance writer and public speaking coach for kids. His writing has a particular focus on travel. Samrat has a true passion for traveling, stating that “If given a choice between money and travel, I would take the money and then travel!”
The Trans Studio Project 3.0 will be a completely new experience for Samrat. The TSP3.0 is all about collaboration and learning from one another. Samrat’s will bring his articulate writing ability and longing for inspiration to this Project. We are excited to see how much he will learn and grow as an artist from this experience.
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Understanding the Misunderstood by Samral Silwal Singh
This 5ft x 5ft cage represents the physical, emotional, and social barriers that street children face every day. Street children live a brutish life: a life void of the love and support of a family, a life without education and shelter, a life full of malnutrition and abuse. These limitations are detrimental to their development; perpetuating the cyclic nature of urban poverty.
The work is constructed from scrap metal, with the artist choosing to make something meaningful out of a material that most people would consider trash. This is indicative of the massive empathy gap between everyday people and street children. Many people choose to view these children as a lost cause, labeling them as Khate and discarding them without a second thought. Street children do not choose this life, through circumstance and systemic oppression, these children are forced into this toxic life. Ultimately, this cultural misunderstanding makes it extremely difficult for street children to escape this lifestyle. Before reintegration can be possible, social acceptance is necessary.
The lock and key inside the cage suggest that despite this being a direr problem, there is still hope for the street children in Nepal. We all hold the key to their freedom. We decide through our ignorance or through our action the trajectory of the lives of street children.
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The next iteration of the Trans Studio Project – the Trans Studio Project 4.0 – will be held in six months time in December 2018/January 2019. If you are interested in participating in this project, please send your expression of interest, resume, and portfolio (if applicable) to [email protected]
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