BY ARTI DAS | NT NETWORK
Subodh Kerkar, an acclaimed Goan artist, who always finds inspiration from the sea and the coast, and portrays his installation near water bodies, will be presenting his art at an international platform.
He has been invited to participate in Ruhr Biennale 2010, which is the first Biennale to be organised in Duisburg, Germany. The theme of the Biennale revolves around ‘Water’. The Biennale will be inaugurated on October 3 and will be on until the November 30.
It is a one of its kind art exhibition, an exhibition that will see art installations of 50 artists from 14 countries. Four artists from India are participating - Subodh Kerkar, Rajan Fulari, Jyotee and Sushil Kumar, who will have a performance art presentation.
Subodh Kerkar will have a major presence at Ruhr Biennale with twenty-two of his works including 13 sculptures and nine installation photographs being air lifted for the show. One of his larger sculptures, created using an old Goan canoe will also be showcased at the Biennale.
“In Europe there is a culture of dedicating one place as the art capital every year. This year it is Ruhr in Germany. It is a name of a river. The theme for the Biennale is ‘water’, a subject close to my heart. In Sanskrit water is called ‘jeevan’, life. Civilizations sprout, are cherished and evolve alongside water. I believe that water is the issue of the future,” says Kerkar.
“Like in the case of Goa even though we have more than 100 inches of rainfall every year we still face the problem of water scarcity due to mismanagement,” Kerkar elucidates further.
Commenting further he says, “Water, especially potable water, is expected to be scarce in the years to come if we do not conserve it, respect it and use it with discretion. Future wars, it is predicted, might be fought over water.”
He has highlighted all these issues in his works. For example in one of his works, ‘Water is Gold Water is God’ he has the metaphor water in place of God.
Kerkar opines that the fact that 23 of his works have been selected, which is the highest among all the artists presenting their art at the Biennale, is an honour for him and his work.
He further mentions that when the concerned authorities approached him he was already working on this theme. “I was already working on it and thus I didn’t make anything exclusively for this exhibition. I also intend to work more on this theme,” he remarks.
Kerkar has also been invited for another Biennale in Florence in December, 2011.
Close to home, Kerkar is planning to have an art park in Goa that could be a catalyst for artists to showcase their work. “This installation art park will have works of all the artists. Ideally it could be situated near the banks of a river and should occupy around 20 acres of land. But, we need government assistance,” says Kerkar signing off.
