~ Goan artists like Alan Rego and Dennis Peter also participated and brought personal Goan touches to the visual arts exhibition, curated by Visual Arts curator Veerangana Solanki, at the recently concluded Serendipity Arts Festival 2024.
After two previous projects, ‘Future Landing’ and ‘Synaesthetic Notations,’ both encouraging the exploration of various senses, Visual Arts curator Veerangana Solanki’s curation for the recently concluded ninth edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival in ‘A Haptic Score,’ delved into the intersections of sound, touch and memory.
Solanki described her curatorial thought process for the recently concluded festival. She said that her latest project rode on the exploratory experience of the two previous offerings and built further on them. “Each of these (projects) is built into each other. From ‘Future Landing’, which explored a loss of control, to ‘Synaesthetic Notations’ focusing on senses, sound became an important aspect that carried forward into ‘A Haptic Score’. However, ‘touch; as an idea previously remained unresolved for me, and that’s where this exhibition picked up.”
‘A Haptic Score’ invited audiences to consider touch, not just in a physical sense but metaphorically, as a connection that cuts across senses. “When you think of haptics, it implies touch, but also how light touches the eye or sound touches the ear, creating an interplay that ties our sensory experiences together,” Solanki added. The word haptic relates to all things linked to the sense of touch, particularly relating to the perception and manipulation of objects.
The exhibition featured works by 15 artists, including Nishant Shukla, Raqs Media Collective, Surabhi Saraf and Goan artists Alan Rego and Dennis Peter. Goan influences were subtly woven into the local artists’ respective exhibits, underscoring the festival’s emphasis on fostering connections across cultures and disciplines.
Highlighting Nishant Shukla’s contributions to the project, Solanki said: “We’ve been discussing sound for years. During the pandemic, Nishant created ‘Lake Space’ in London, a sound space that led to sound becoming central to his practice.” His work at ‘A Haptic Score’ extended this exploration, and transformed the exhibition into a sound-based sensory experience.
Touch and sound, Solanki noted, were the unifying themes across the curated exhibition. “Most of the works made you aware of sound, your own body and emotions. It brought people back to themselves,” she concluded.
