Art takes all kinds of forms. Painting, sculpture, drawing and even printmaking just to name a few. Goa is well versed with art and artifacts. The Goa State Museum, the Museum of Christian Art house a lot of pieces of art that are dear to Goa’s heritage. Printmaking isn’t talked about much but it’s interesting to learn that the first printing press was established in St. Paul’s College in Goa, in 1556, during the Portuguese regime. And that is when India was first introduced to modern techniques of printmaking. From then until our contemporary times, there have been waves of changes and influences that have shaped the way printmaking is looked at now.
Printmaking as an art form
Printmaking, also known as Graphic Art, is a way by which multiple images called prints are created. Prints are created from a single original surface, known technically as a matrix or a plate. Prints are multipliable, easy to transport and exhibit. Such features allow prints travel across times and territories easily, hence invite a wider audience. Printmaking has played an important role in spreading knowledge and culture since its invention. This art form can be categorized as Relief Printing, Intaglio, Lithography/Planography, Serigraphy, New media and Iris print/ Giclee print. (Source – Hong Kong Open Printshop)
Art in the heart of the village
Art is created through a feeling of community and collaboration. This is evident at artist Seema Kohli’s Studio 365. Nestled in the heart of Goa Velha, Studio 365 will be hosting a project to encourage experimental art-making practices and to facilitate research on the constant overlapping of different cultures and influences. These could be based on people, places, material and immaterial heritage. The project is titled PRECIP – PRINTMAKING WORKSHOP AND RESIDENCY at Studio 365, August 10-16.
While the studio is privately owned by Seema Kohli, there have been more than three residencies wherein various expert artists from all over the world have come together to collaborate in this informal setting. It is an unconventional space where exchange and sharing are at the crux, with an element of local collaboration and participation. The studio also supports environmental friendly practices.
PRECIP – PRINTMAKING WORKSHOP AND RESIDENCY at Studio 365, August 10-16
“Precip” comes from the word Precipitate or Precipitation. The concept for the print residency plays with, and explores the word’s taxonomy and its meanings, making tangents at the physical and conceptual level while allowing participants to combine and create their own stories from it.
Water is power. Goa’s monsoon season is pure evidence of that. Everyone and everything eagerly awaits the monsoons. It is a time-bound process, that slowly awakens the growth that is hidden deep down. Water can either make gentle changes to the world or violent ones. Changes in climate and atmospheric patterns cause alternations in patterns, creating complex situations of environmental damage.
States Lina Vincent, the curatorial associate of Precip, “The Residency grouping will look at translating and devising new trajectories from Precip – to define mythologies surrounding our every day and our contemporary status, while also harking back to the truths of life and death of the universe, and the ever essential water resource. “
The Printmaking residency carries on the idea that Artists Create Together (ACT) and that art can be the interface for dialogue, communication, and social change. The residency will welcome visitors’ interaction and host a series of informal presentations by the participating artists, as well as a special program on August 15th.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS OF PRECIP:
Dimple B Shah (Bangalore) | Ryan Francis Abreu (Goa) | Seema Kohli (Delhi) | Medha Prabhakar (Mumbai) Saurganga Darshandhari (Kathmandu) | Vijay Bhandare (Goa) | Sham Sunder (Bangalore)
There will also be special highlights consisting of a talk by Gopika Nath. It is entitled Unravelling The Threads – A Journey Into the Self.
Gopika Nath is a textile artist-craftsman who embroiders and writes, threading her syllables into poetry, creative non-fiction, and art reviews. Contemplating life through needle-work, her stitch journal, adds contemporary philosophy to an ancient craft. A Fulbright Scholar, an alumnus of Central St. Martins School of Art and Design [UK], Gopika has left the chaos of Gurgaon to live and work in Goa.
Information credit – Think Geek Media
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