The Golden Web
By
Anjana Chandak
Anjana Chandak responds evocatively to the narrative performance by artist Seema Kohli, held recently at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Bengaluru.
Poetry is not when you find a word rhyming with a word but poetry is created when you can find a word rhyming exactly with your feeling…And this is what artist Seema Kohli, who donned the cap of poetess made me feel, performing her poetic narration, ‘In Silence the Secret Speaks...’
The mirror pool at the NGMA provided the perfect womb to nurture the spirit of the artist who merged with the art through her own reflection. She transcended her paintings into verbal form through her palette of myriad emotions, painting it line by line; creating and narrating.
Her poetry contextually speaks about the myth of our own existence… Maya. As the mystic weaver keeps on weaving, we enter a world where there is a constant cycle of Creation, Evolution and Destruction; which the poem beautifully describes as a ‘Parikrama’. The dancer represented her free spirit, moving swiftly in harmony with her words. A piece of cloth, a woven rug, based on Seema Kohli’s ‘Tree of Life’, is hung as a perfect backdrop reminding us that the rhythm of life is nothing but the sound of the eternal loom weaving the cloth we embody, as the first robe to the shroud.
“The golden womb with its umbilical cord, the lotus stems. Its creation in muddied waters resulting in the flowering of the world and a state of enlightenment…”
Through symbolism her universe emerges from this mythical womb and we flow along as she embarks on this journey which recognizes the cosmic essence within the worldly.
Seema Kohli refused to be judged on the parameters of poetic perfections and called this as ‘Broken Prose…’, straight from the heart.
“As an artist I am like that air, bound to flow in every space, taking different forms.” It was a soulful experience to witness Seema with verses rolling down her hands just as flowing time.
In Silence the Secret Speaks, a narrative performance by Seema Kohli, was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Bengaluru on Sunday August 13th 2017, supported by Gallery Veda, Chennai
About the Author: Anjana Chandak is a contemporary artist based in Bangalore. A B-tech graduate in interior design Anjana is passionate about poetry and is exploring her spiritual self through her various avenues of expression.
All images are courtesy the writer
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