Costume lovers posing behind dresses designed by Japanese designer Ichiko Funai using Indian material.
POST NEWS NETWORK
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Biennale hosted by Mudra Foundation in association with Tokyo-Odisha Cultural Exchange and Masaka Ono Performing arts concluded Sunday with the brilliant performance of Japanese musicians. This edition of Odisha biennale showcased many artistes from Australia, Belgium, France and South Africa in addition to Japanese who performed at the nine-day art and crafts festival. There were workshops wherein artistes from various countries shared their experience with the local artistes.
The theme “Body + Cloth” set the tone for the artistes to contemplate on the meaning of aesthetically clothing the physical body in the society. The recognition for the act of wearing over the years right from history, desire for metamorphosis, and deviation from the community were discussed at the workshops. The objective was to manifest the strengths of the artistes such as skill and global creativity as a bridge across cultures, highlighting how collaboration can help marginalise cultures regain ethnic glory, engage with other international artistes, innovate, embrace coexistence in equity and promote diversity. The collaboration was showcased at the festival wherein artists of Dhokra art and Golden Grass Craft worked with internationally acclaimed fashion designers such as Ichiko Funai, Ayumi Hattori and Nanako Koyama.
theme.
Danseuse Masaka Ono said the festival had improved qualitatively this year. “We had more representation from abroad such as South Africa and Belgium. People are aware of the festival so the gathering was a little more different from the previous years. Keeping this year’s theme in mind, the organisers planned “Artistes In Residence” for a month to create a collaborative art project connecting artists from Orissa and their internationally acclaimed counterparts in the field of performing arts, visual arts, crafts, music and photography. Artistes like fashion designer Ichiko Funai (Japan), Fujima Rankoh, a Nihonbuyo dancer, Moya from South Africa and Indian artistes Hemabharathy Palani and Ronita Mookerji conducted the
workshop for students of NIFT and others.
The main aim of the festival is to promote art and culture of various countries and bring the artistes of various backgrounds and culture to one forum. Masaka said artists from Jajpur, Puri, Sundargarh, Dhenkanal and other places presented their craft Dhokra and Golden Grass which had drawn the people’s attention. Fashion designer Ichiko Funai from Japan, who organised the workshop and created some rare designs, said Oriya artists’ work had impressed her and she wondered how they are working so delicately on a singular aspect.
She had tried to merge their work with her and create a fusion of arts in her dressing. She has created the designs using local products such as Ikat fabric, brass pot and brooms. She said, she has been trying to showcase local aspects by visiting local areas to study their work. For her, style and fashion means “self-expression”. Such workshops need to be conducted regularly for their motivation and to carry forward artistic pursuits, said Udaynath Maharana from Jajpur, who has been engaged in Golden Grass crafts for the past 33 years.
Nandini Maharana, a state-level award winner, said the government must collaborate with artists of the other countries “to give us a chance to learn and spread art to other parts of the globe.’’ Apart from the workshop, the dancers and musicians from around the world had regaled the audience with their scintillating performance, at the nine-day festival. Artistes from Japan, South Arica, Luxemburg and France performed at the venue. At one end, there was the performance by Fujima Rankoh who showed the traditional dance form Nihonbuyo in which the dancer assumed the role of an opposite gender (in performance) for which they used a special fan called MaiOhgi. The performance titled Project O by Vedanza narrated a fairy tale through dance. The episode involves a quest for the moon during which they stumble upon huge riches
The performance was an eye opener for the audiences. Dance is universal and the world is not stuck with only classical forms. In the Indian context, Bangalore dancers Hemabharathy Palani and Ronita Mookerji perfomed contemporary dance on the theme Yashti and Who respectively. Palani showcased various aspects of modern women while Ronita explored the struggle for identity and the conflict of opposite sexes. Several artistes from Orissa were felicitated as part of the biennale.
Prasana Pradhan, a Dhokra artist, was felicitated by Masayuki Taga, Consul General of Japan in Kolkata. A tour programme covering Buddhist sites Udayagiri and Lalitgiri were organised for the tourists.
