Any story of light would invariably begin with the
most natural and life-giving source – the Sun! Tapping the energies of this
source to express their interpretation of light at the ongoing Story of Light
Festival in the capital city, two London-based artists, Jaden Hastings and
Melanie King, have in the process created a world record installation. “Our
previous cyanotypes have been much smaller. This one which is six metres by ten
metres is the largest ever and a world record in itself,” explains Jaden, who
draws on her experience as a scientist (biology and bioinformatics) and artist
to develop her art works.
Completed in a two-part process, the first round took
exactly ten minutes to complete. “We coated the cloth (100 per cent cotton)
with photo sensitive lotion. Once it was dry, we took it out into the sun, at
around 12 noon, and asked dozens of people to lay down on it and hold for ten
minutes,” they explain. The ensuing impressions on the large canvas of cloth
are similar to a poetic story, in sync with the title of the installation,
‘Photo Poiesis’. “It’s a combination of two Greek words – light and poetry
hence making poetry with light,” explains Jaden.
This large cloth is now installed at Miramar, tethered
to four coconut trees at a height. As the sunlight filters through, the story
becomes amply clear. “People in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds stylised
themselves in different ways on the cloth, telling their own stories with their
images. One is an artist with two diagonal shaped boxes he was carrying along
with him. Another has a pair of shades carelessly thrown alongside,” the duo
explains, while pointing out that the entire theme has been responsive to Goa.
“We have interspersed these images with those of Goan palm leaves and the
Christmas star. These are things we have come to associate with Goa since our
three-week residency here. Also, all the materials have been sourced in India.”
avers Melanie, whose work at the festival is a perfect foil for her artistic
work and research in light and astronomy.
While on the more universal level ‘Photo Poiesis’
examines our direct relationship with the sun and the energy and life we derive
from it, it also serves the purpose of encouraging Indian artists to explore
other types and avenues of art. “There has been resurgence in historic
traditional processes like the cyanotype among artists in Europe and Tokyo and
we hope to make people aware of this here as well,” says Melanie.
Describing the festival as ‘an incredibly fruitful
period’ in a land so peaceful and generous, these two artists are hoping to
return the favour with their poetry of light.
