NT BUZZ
“We think of globalisation to be something very contemporary, but in the Goan context it’s more than a hundred years old. Vamona’s (Navelkar) work is not only connected to Goa’s contemporary times, but it is also connected to global scenarios. These connections he brings to Goa through the other parts of the world he has lived in, through his art. We are not only celebrating the artist and his work, but also showing the necessity to maintain his art for Goa. We are hoping that this can lead to an even larger archive,” said Benedito Ferrão of the Al-Zulaij Collective at the recently inaugurated exhibition at Fundacao Oriente.
In a bid to give the artist his due during his lifetime, the Al’juleij Collective in association with Fundacao Oriente has collated Navelcar’s works in an exhibition titled Goa/Portugal/Mozambique: The Many Lives of Vamona Navelcar and also released a book with the same name.
The 16 pieces displayed at the exhibition speak of Vamona’s life and legacy whose studies and career took him to various locations in the Lusophone world: Goa, Portugal, and Mozambique. His was impacted by a larger circuit of cultural, political, social, and economic influences, which in turn is a perfect example of the complexity of Goan identity. “The Goan identity has its roots in the Lusophone multiculturalism. And we often forget that, but Vamona actually breaks the boundaries of where one culture ends and the other begins, he is actually saying that they have influenced each other in a very significant way. The complexity comes out of the dominant ideas of presenting a monolithic concept of what our cultural identify is supposed to be. He is not just representing one aspect, but even other aspects – the Christian, the Indian and even the Islamic influences,” says Benedito.
The book on the other hand is a commemorative one; it could be viewed as an exhibition catalogue in which each piece of art is accompanied by words of people who view his art from their perspective, and the writers include Savia Viegas, Apurva Kulkarni, Karishma D’Souza, Jessica Faleiro, Jason Fernandes. “The exhibition might come and go, a book might have a limited age, but it is a record that speaks of ways of how people can look at art, with literary criticisms and even a graphic novel. The graphic novel was included in the book to use the art as it was intended from another perspective. It makes people aware about Vamona’s ouvre and also allows a lot of entry points into his life’s story,” says Benedito.