Durga Venkatesan in Sensitive Matter
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
In Sensitive Matter, an artistically modern and emotionally evocative efficiency, Durga Venkatesan explores the pervasive difficulty of sexual harassment by way of a non-verbal medium. This efficiency dissolves conventional theatrical boundaries by immersing spectators in an lively function.
In Sensitive Matter, Durga stands immobile for a full 60 minutes, permitting the viewers to work together together with her in a profoundly private means. Contributors are invited to strategy the artist and use white paint to go away a fingerprint on any a part of her physique the place they’ve been touched inappropriately. This silent change, she explains, transforms the viewers from mere spectators into “spect-actors,” people who actively form the efficiency with their private tales and feelings.
The concept grew out of a 10-day workshop she attended in Mumbai centered on creating solo performances impressed by private experiences. “It sparked a need in me to discover the problem of inappropriate touching, one thing I’ve sadly confronted dwelling in Delhi. Security, or the shortage thereof, is consistently drilled into us,” Durga recounts, speaking over the telephone from Bengaluru. .
“The explanation I selected a non-verbal strategy for this piece is that, as many people know, speaking about inappropriate touching and sexual harassment will be extremely troublesome,” Durga explains, “We would lack confidence or just not really feel secure sufficient to talk up. Identical to me, many individuals wrestle to articulate these experiences. That’s the place creativity is available in.”
Durga Venkatesan in Sensitive Matter
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association
“This efficiency is deeply private for me,” Venkatesan shares. “It stems from an extended historical past of inappropriate touching that started as early as once I was 5 years previous. This efficiency is my means of making an area for others to precise themselves, maybe for the primary time.”
The efficiency is just not solely in regards to the artist’s expertise but in addition serves as a profound second for the viewers. “For survivors, it may be a step in the direction of acknowledging and accepting their experiences,” she says, “For others who haven’t confronted inappropriate touching or harassment, the sheer variety of contributors could be a revelation, creating consciousness and empathy. Witnessing the silent tales can catalyse each anger and a need to make a change.”
Durga’s work is about bravery and vulnerability. Her private journey and the efficiency’s evolution are deeply intertwined. “Initially, I had the identical anxieties anybody would – standing utterly nonetheless whereas absorbing folks’s uncooked feelings,” she admits. “However one thing shifted inside me after the primary present. Witnessing so many expressions and tales lifted a weight off my shoulders. It wasn’t nearly them; it was about me, too. A way of belonging bloomed in that room, surrounded by individuals who understood. We weren’t simply making a secure area however a courageous area.”
The piece premiered at Prithvi Home in Mumbai and was just lately carried out once more at Lahe Lahe in Bengaluru. Venkatesan’s earlier reveals elicited various reactions, with the ambiance in every metropolis distinctly shaping the efficiency. “In Bombay, the vitality was excessive, with round 50 folks in attendance. Many individuals participated, leaving their fingerprints. In distinction, the ambiance in Bangalore was a lot calmer. Folks appeared deeply introspective, piecing collectively tales behind the fingerprints within the quiet, darkened area.”
In response to the artist, Sensitive Matter is just not about discovering a single end result however fairly about offering an area for exploration and private journeys. “Some may discover it cathartic, releasing pent-up feelings. Others may really feel anger bubble as much as the floor. Nonetheless others may merely want quiet reflection.”
Sensitive Matter can be carried out on June 23 at Shoonya Centre for Somatic Arts and Practices, Lal Bagh Street. Tickets can be found on insider.in.
