Masticated Faces
चपाईएका अनुहारहरू
Performance
2004
Gallery Nine, Lazimpat
with Salil Subedi and Late Dipesh Burathoki
—
Continued at
Old Masters | Young Voices
Alhamra Art Gallery, Lahore
Pakistan
The expressions in the masticated faces show the remains of torturous and violent experiences. It deals with the trauma of psychological death, which are the outcome of tragic incidents that are occurring in the country and across the world. Death is the actual theme here, which is being experimentally brought into the gallery through varied art presentations.
The artist’s performance with bandaged face depicts layers of tragedy and ignorance- a life that hides within the white scaffold of death attempts to peep out. Through this presentation he seeks something fixed and stable in the perplexing dim wilderness of uncertainty. Meanwhile, Salil and Dipesh attempt to reach beyond the limitation of the gallery wall by their performance to interpret the artist’s work.
The presentation of masks deals with the philosophy of Death. Death never shows its face. Its true identity is always hidden in the veil of incident or accident.
Mask of the dead-why have they been killed? Perhaps no one has a justifiable answer. Can the answer be found, if one peeps inside the dead expression? Is it outside the physical reality or is it inside the carcass or does the explanation dwells within the living?
Mask may also be witnessed as a shield to escape the fear of uncertainty. Masks cover everything and what lies beneath – is the true self – an answer without any complicated or annoying questions – just a plain and simple answer. Can that be found – is the question the artist asks.
The photographs arranged on one side of the gallery wall show the artist’s tormented images. With every tragic occurrence of death, a fragment of hope dies inside the artist’s psyche. These images show the process of how an individual reacts to a traumatic situation.
We start a day with newspaper. It has metaphorically transformed us into a newspaper itself. Every occurrence becomes a page and our experiences – desolate words. The word Death itself is not perhaps tragic but the dreadful way it comes, shocks everybody. And that shock of Death dominates every pages of the newspaper that makes our lives. Therefore the artist has published his brochure in a form of newspaper, which itself is a communicable work of art.
Pile of newspaper is arranged to form a well, inside which lies broken mirror. One sees his/her reflection on it. Traces of astonishments, laughter, and sadness, shock, surprise, alienation, loneliness, and happiness, hope …can be witnessed in the shining reflection. There is an invisible presence of death in every passing sentiment.
The artist scatters his photo-images on the floor. He indicates them as his consciousness. The artist wants the spectator to step on it, so one could leave behind dark phases and start anew. The artist takes the realization of death as strength rather than weakness to understand and experience life.
