With the support of National Art
Council’s “Arts Creation Fund 2011”, BAT was able to develop the project titled Infinite
Saree . This project emerged out of research-based workshops in three phases . The first phase was the five-day Bio-Art
Workshop which was conducted at the PSB Academy in January 2011. The second
phase was the Bio- Art and 3D Workshop which was conducted at the Raffles
Institution in April 2011. The final phase was the Bio-Art and 3D Workshop
(Hands On) at Bhaskar’s Arts Academy in September 2011. The workshops resulted
in the creation of the unique DNA Carnatic and DNA Saree.
The main collaborators for this
project were Dr.S.Chandrasekaran, Artistic Director (Visual), Santha Bhaskar Artistic Director, (Movement), Gary Cass(Scientific Director), and Madhura Nayak
(Guest Artist).
Infinite Saree - DNA Carnatic
In Infinite Saree,the musical script was produced by converting a
unique DNA code into musical code. The DNA code used was accessed from
Cyanobacteria, commonly known as Blue-green algae, a bacterium that occurred
early in the life of the Earth elements. These bacteria were very important in
the formation and evolution of the planet.
The symbolic representations between
the DNA code of Cyanobacteria and “Pancha Bootas” (Earth elements that are
symbolically represented in the Mahabharatha) inspired us to create the music
score, through Carnatic music (South Indian classical music).
In this project, the outcomes will be
focused on interpreting the DNA sequence of cyanobacteria into musical notes of
Carnatic Music. . It has 41 talas and the raga is Sumanesa
Ranjani .This creation can be
claimed as a first of its kind in the world of South Indian music and the life
sciences
Infinite Saree - DNA Saree
In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana
commands his younger brother Dushasana to disrobe Draupadi. As Dushasana unwraps layers and layers of her saree,
new layers ofcloth keep ‘unfolding endlessly’. Finally tired, Dushasana backs
off without being able to strip Draupadi.
The notion of unfolding and folding
can be also translated in a scientific context; where proteins are being
constantly shaped into the building blocks of life. Single cells become
multi-cellular, forming plants and animals. In this project we adopted the Dna sequence of Phoenix Palm to create the Valkala (garment worn
during the period of the Pandavas).
The symbolic relationship between the
unfolding notion of multi-cellular cells and unfolding saree of Draupadi
inspired us to use the DNA sequence of the Phoenix Palm as the motif for the
saree.
In this project, the DNA of Phoenix
Palm has been translated into motifs on the saree. These motifs are represented by the DNA
sequence - A, T, G and C. Each of these alphabets has been assigned a specific
colour. The length of the saree is about 8 meters.
Infinite Saree has been made
possible with the support of the National Art Council’s “Arts Creation Fund
2011”
Venue: Goodman Arts Centre, Black Box, Block M, #01-53
Date of the show: 31st March and 1st
April 2012
Time : 6pm to 10pm
Free Admission
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Zao Bao 15 jan.2011
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