Mesma Trilogy
2003/2004
Duration - 22 minutes
Darshana Vora
Mesma Trilogy
2003/2004
Duration - 22 minutes, colour, no sound, looped.
Filmed and edited by Darshana Vora.
Version II (2-monitor work)
Darshana Vora�s works are influenced by ideas in Oriental philosophy and often take the form of metaphorical objects, environments and situations that engaging the audience. They allude to philosophical spaces and present architecturally influenced constructs in their presentation. In Mesma Trilogy (Version I), conceived as a six monitor video installation Darshana references themes in movie scripts connecting them to her process of art making. The three movies referenced in this work are Stanley Kubrick�s �2001- A Space Odyssey�, Charlie Kaufman�s �Adaptation� and Andrei Tarkovsky�s �Solaris�.
Interpreting the Mesma Trilogy as �3 movies that have had a mesmerising effect� on her Darshana draws inspiration from the investigative theme within the films, the nature of an object as a phenomenon which is elusive, mysterious and mesmerizing, one that draws the characters in to discover it. The videos explore an object or multiple objects in unusual circumstances, hinting at altered states. Just as the screenplay of any movie can only precede the visual, the artist�s videos anticipate the space between an artwork being explored and completed .The screenplay is presented in the form of a rolling credit, a scrolling text that describes the action in the movie without having any visuals itself. It remains a reference of the film, excerpting the main theme, hoping to remind the viewer of their experience of the film, or introducing the film to viewer, if they have not seen it.
Darshana Vora, born in 1969 in Calcutta, but raised in Mumbai, has worked in various media including objects, installation, performance, video, interactive, site-specific and sound works since 1996. She has had 3 one-person exhibitions in India and one in Melbourne, Australia and has exhibited widely in group shows worldwide. Notable recent works include her participation in �De Inrichting,� a site-specific sound installation in GGZ, NHN Institute for Treatment of Schizophrenia in Heiloo, Netherlands, 2003; a running LED installation within a taxi for �Peace Taxi�, Toronto, 2003; an outdoor, site-specific public work at the Museum Of Domestic Design and Architecture, London, and an interactive card game, �Peace Patience,� as part of Sakshi Gallery�s annual exhibition in Mumbai India. The artist currently lives and works in London.
