I Draw, Therefore I Am
At the ongoing 58th Venice Biennale, for instance, Malani’s exhibition Rothko in Lampedusa, organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees includes an installation of five larger-than-life cylinders that hang in space.
Mumbai-based Nalini Malani has been making art for 50 years. Concerned with the dispossessed and the voiceless, her work has everything, from Manto to mythology. Nothing and nobody is at odds with each other on her canvases. At the ongoing 58th Venice Biennale, for instance, Malani’s exhibitionRothko in Lampedusa, organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees includes installation of five larger-than-life cylinders that hang in space. Recently awarded the 70,000 (Rs 54.5 lakh) Joan Mir³ Prize, the pathbreaking artist spoke to us about her work.
Q. What does this prize mean to you?
The prize is from an artist’s foundation that was started by the artist Joan Mir³ himself during his lifetime. This is rare and very important as it shows his belief in artists of the future and giving space for art other than his own. It is about his utmost belief of life in art. Joan Mir³’s art has been important to me since I was a student in Paris in the 1970s.
Q. Tell us about Rothko in Lampedusa?
It’s about immigrants who have done well in and for their host country, e.g. Mark Rothko. It is a positive way of looking at immigrants.
Q. What is the reason behind your partiality to Greek references in your art?
Myths are universal, but cryptic truths have come to us through aeons of time almost like a collective unconscious of the human race. They are not historical truths, hence we can open myths to make them relevant to contemporary times. But they have stories that people are familiar with, hence they form a link for the artist.
Q. How do you go about retelling stories in your work?
I choose stories that people already know. That forms our link for communication. For me, art is three-bodied the artist, the art and the viewer. Together we wake up the artwork.
Q. How do the different mediums you choose the performance, drawings, video come together in your work?
I draw, therefore I am. Drawing and painting are my keyboards for making my compositions. It’s my need to communicate that dictates the material I use in the final creations.
Q. What are you working on now?
I am working on a new video project. My characters are anxious worriers about the state of the world.