From Vishal Rawlley’s balcony overlooking
Hauz-i-Shamsi, we can see and hear the ‘mela’ for the weeklong festival, Phoolwalon
ki Sair at Mehrauli; the lights of the not-so-giant wheel gyrating to the
latest Bollywood beats. There could not have been a more apt backdrop to plunge
headlong into a conversation on ‘art for the masses’ that has a sense of
humor as well. With his latest artwork, the 'Magarmach' which “will bite you if you dirty
the lake”, quietly floating in the darkness of the polluted waters of the Hauz,
Vishal chats with Swati Janu on everything except for what he plans to do
at Nagaland…
VR:
For me, the audience is the
public. A mela like this is the
ultimate inspiration… Sign board painter, the local literature, album covers-
they define our culture and media. The art world is closed-looping within
itself. Borrowed ideas are sold as art in the galleries. I feel uncomfortable
in that space. I have nothing to talk to artists about. I want to talk to my
neighbors. They are the people I understand. I’m a film maker…cinema,
architecture, music…these are the things I understand. One of the first
projects I worked on was an art film on three magicians… magic shows, circus, melas…these are dying art forms today…
SJ:
A lot of your work on Bombay Arts is on such local dying arts, such as
documenting Bhojpuri music album
covers, urban typography etc. Are you experimenting with kitsch as art?
VR: What is kitsch? It is just a different perspective
of looking at art. What is kitsch for you is a daily aesthetic for someone
else. I call it urban folk art. It is a living, breathing culture. I wouldn’t
bracket it as such...
SJ: However, the kind of work you are doing is
not what is commonly perceived as
art…
VR:
It is using different media. If
you are a film maker, you automatically think of the audience. More than just
self- expression, for me art is about communication. Art lies in the connection
with the people…it needs to be a dialogue. It cannot be static; it needs to be
interactive… Media provides that communication. I believe in a very DIY,
handmade approach, which involves the people. For instance, this ‘Magarmarch’ would not have been
possible without the support of the people here. Even though it is a public
space, it is illegal to put anything in the lake (not that it stops the people
from dumping into it!) since it is an ASI protected area. But, everyone feels a
part of it; from my barber to my bai,
they ask me about it. Initially I received a grant for the ‘Borak’ artwork that I had floated last year. But, it drowned and
we rescued it and put it back together with the help of the locals.
SJ: Did
you receive another grant for the ‘Magarmach’
this year?
VR: No, this is out of my own initiative. As
part of the Phoolwalon ki Sair mela,
I had also proposed another interactive installation to the authorities. It
consisted of plywood cut out hoarding of Rajnikant at which one could shoot
with a Chinese laser toy. But, they didn’t show much interest and it didn’t
happen…
SJ: Very clearly your artworks do not
belong inside galleries. Is this a conscious attempt to stay away from those
spaces and the sale of art?
VR: I am not in the market of making goods
of cultural consumption. My artwork can be sold if anyone is willing to buy it.
It’s very easy to make… I can make another one! Many times it is a natural
reaction or simple discovery. For instance, you might have seen this little
animation in the porn section on Bombay Arts. Porn back then was printed
because photographs could not be taken. The colors would very commonly be off
in the badly printed German magazines of those times, which is what people had
in the name of porn. The printing offset of blue and red ink is what I used to
create a 3d effect.
SJ:
From ‘Dil Mange Mor’ in Old
Delhi and ‘Legend of the Sea Lord’ in
Mumbai to ‘Borak’ and now ‘Magarmach’, would you like to tell us
the story of your voice-light technology?
VR:
I started as a film maker; I was
working on documentary films, art films. So the story goes back to the time
when it became hard to make documentary films. Bollywood was dead. Television
had come in a big way. Internet had come around 1999, where you could do your
own thing… my world had opened up but I could not communicate with everyone. From
even my parents who don’t like to SMS- to people who can’t type. Typing and
reading becomes a barrier in communication through the internet. So, what is
that thing that everyone uses most commonly and easily? It is a cellphone. I
came up with the idea of audio blogging for the masses- the idea of using a phone
to activate things. But, the idea didn’t take off… perhaps because I am a bad
entrepreneur. A server distributes calls and I was trying to eliminate that. With
‘dil mange mor’, I worked out a
prototype where no computer was required, where a person could interact
directly with the installation.
SJ: What is the technology behind it?
VR:
It is very simple. It is a simple
electronic device, like the lights which switch on and off by a clap. I try to
use simple mechanisms I pick up from the street culture or the local toys I
like to collect.
SJ:
The ‘Borak’ you installed
last year and the ‘Magarmach’ this
year, to spread awareness on the polluting of the lake and to stop people from dumping
in it; what has been the reaction and feedback?
VR:
Abhi bhi fenkte hai! It is a bad habit they cannot overcome.
Overtime the stench is in their own backyard but like it is said, common sense
isn’t all that common. We did manage to stop the sewage drains from emptying
into the lake though. I met with the councillor for this and once we raised the
issue, the authorities stepped in. Now the drains are connected to the municipality drain
which already existed, but somehow it was the lake they were draining into all along.
SJ: To think you had to pull out the borak from these waters…
VR:
Not just swim to save it but I
have had to always swim to change the batteries on that thing as well…
SJ: [incredulous look]
VR: [laughs]...and then bathe in Dettol, of course! First I tried using Christmas lights and a locally made inverter and later, even motorcycle batteries. In fact I tried
installing a fountain sort of a water jet which would dance with the sound, but
it would use up the batteries too quickly. Today, of course it is solar powered…
[wide grin]
Boka
went to meet Mehboob at the check post and there were no words for their
incredulity at the situation, as it became murkier by the hour, entangled in
bureaucratic protocol. And, out of these unspoken words, was born a story. A
story of borders. The border between India and Bangladesh. And, people whose
lives are divided by these borders. Though one side is no different from the
other. So, they set out to find the people to whom this story belonged. And,
they came across a village in Meghalaya called Ichamati. Whose brothers live on
one side and fathers on the other. They decided to share this story with
everyone through the medium of art, in the second month of next year. While that story waits to be heard, this one ends.
