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infiltrated?

What are the important questions in my art?




At the centre of my practice is the kavadi ( a burden that is carried during Thaipusam and could involve piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers).
Kavadi to me is the ultimate prosthesis to modify our rhythm, our gestures and our movements

What has modification of movement got to do with my work?
I firmly believe that all our gestures and rhythms are influenced by our acts of worship.
These rituals of worship has gradually eroded away the freedom of our movement. Liturgical inculturation moves both ways.

Another way of putting this is to think about how we are always trying to become one with god. In preparation for our death we restrict our physical self.  We fetter our movements and try to align ourselves with god. There is an assumption here that the rhythm of the universe is different from yours and a realignment is a prerequisite to a godly existence.
All of our movements suddenly become suspect. They have been infiltrated. How can we relook at all that we do with fresh eyes? Is it even possible?

There is this idea in martial arts, dance  and certain occult studies that link the material with the immaterial. This energy/rhythm or prana in Sanskrit, is developed through breathing and coordinated movement of the body.  Could this be a better basis to our gestures, rhythms and movements?

I believe that to rediscover  freedom in our movements, our gestures and rhythms we need to start challenging the way our bodies gesticulates and the way we move. To reshape, we need to traumatise our bodies, to renew the link between the body and the spirit, the material and the immaterial.

What can we learn from these observations?
How do we align ourselves with god? Why and how do we seek death?
How does worship and martial arts and dance compare? What can we learn about our movements from these disciplines?

What will be a general statement about my work?

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