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| Surekha Reaching myself 2002, Video Duration: 4 min 49 sec |
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| Surekha Reaching myself 2002, Video Duration: 4 minutes 49 seconds Concept & Performance: Surekha Camera: Natalie Butler Surekha�s video Reaching Myself uses the double image of her body--juxtaposed one on the other. The artist represents herself being pushed, rolled and pulled in all directions by strong sea waves as she offers no resistance to the natural phenomena, with her body in constant motion. Subsequently this video, projected onto the corner of a studio wall, where the artist performs once again, by laying �still� on the floor, alludes to the artificiality of the situation of the controlled studio body watching the same uninhibited body in the sea. In the process of witnessing the projected sea waves, the body-in-the-video gets pushed towards the body-in-the-studio, finally the projected body emerging and of the studio body merge into one. Surekha in this work conveys the urgency for women to empower themselves and seize control of their lives. Using the sea as an allegory for time, she implies that time is running out and that women need to make choices and take a stance for what they believe. This is the only recourse. Born in Bangalore, India. Surekha studied fine arts at Ken School of Arts, Bangalore and Kalabhavan, Santiniketan (1985-92) after having completed a degree in science. She has worked as Artist-in- Residence at Gasteatelier Krone, Aarau, Switzerland (1999); Art Space studios, Bristol (2001), UK; HIAP, Helsinki(2001);Vermont Studio Center (2002) and CCA7, Trinidad(2003). She has held solo exhibitions entitled "traces and memories of a body", "the native body", "selving a body" and "eye of a needle" at Bangalore and Lakeeren gallery, Mumbai.Selected group shows: "under the Skin", Aarau (1999), "british make" Bristol(2001); "skin deep" Helsinki(2001). She has also participated in group exhibitions in India and abroad like, "camouflage", Nehru Center London(2001); "self", IMA Brisbane(2002); "other side of the sky", Unesco, Paris(2003); and "sites of recurrence", Boras Museum, Sweden(2003). |
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