Fungible Avatars | Cosmos 1

Pushpamala N
Avega ~ The Passion 
The Drama of Three Women

Notes
The Passion explores the characters of three women from the epic Ramayana as archetypal figures. Set in fantasy environments, fateful incidents from the epic are played out on a spectacular stage with fog machines, elaborate painted sets, costume and lighting to create powerful atmospheres. Pushpamala plays with various genres of image-making in her works, resulting in richly layered hybrids with multiple references. Many of the works in the exhibition refer to theatre stills from the early 20th century, while others use early cinema as their models. The artist is always the central protagonist in these dramas and the works function as documents of performances, as critiques of representational constructions, and as oblique self-portraits.

Credits:

Created by © Pushpamala N.
Photography: Clay Kelton
Video editing : Gautam Pandey
Cast: Pushpamala N, Shreelata Rao Seshadri, Sudhindra Seshadri, Suresh Jayaram, Raam Kumar
Backdrops painted by: G.Mahesh and the Artist

Avega ~ The Passion 

Chala / Intrigue (Set of 6 sepia coloured photographs) is based on the incident where the old hunch-backed wet nurse of the Warrior Queen Kaikeyi, stepmother to Rama, plays upon her insecurities to ask for Rama’s banishment to the forest before his coronation in order to crown her own son the king. The palace intrigues are portrayed by creating elaborate tableaux which are reminiscent of early 20th century “Company” theatre. 

Apaharana / Abduction: (Set of 9 colour photographs)

- based on the abduction of princess Sita by the demon Ravana. The act of the abduction of a woman which is a central theme in many of the world’s mythologies, is stretched out in many frames using Orientalist images of the odalisque. The pictures take references from Western oil painting and a dark Symbolist imagery via their use in Hollywood films, Ravi Varma paintings, popular illustrations and calendar paintings.

Mrugayati / The Hunt (Stop motion colour video loop)

- a video created from still images of the demon chasing the princess, like a fragment from a recurring dream or nightmare.