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Hallucinations of an Artifact
The Dancing Girl of Mohenjodaro Comes to Life Through Dance and AI
Artistes
How does an ancient artifact think, move and respond to our current times? Hallucinations of an Artifact brings the Dancing Girl figurine from the Indus Valley civilization (c. 2300-1750 BCE) to life through dance and artificial intelligence. It pushes back at the multiple assertions that have been made on behalf of the figurine over the years. Can the Dancing Girl live, perspire, breathe, evolve and transform through dancing bodies?
The Dancing Girl, often held up as the earliest evidence of dance in ‘Indian’ culture, is a contentious figure. In 2016, Pakistan asked India to return the artifact, given that it was originally excavated from Mohenjo-daro, which is now part of Pakistan. Soon after, a research paper by the Indian Council of Historical Research claimed that the figurine was in fact a representation of the Hindu goddess Parvati. More recently, the Dancing Girl has appeared as propaganda: as a figurine labelled ‘Mother’ in several languages at an art exhibition and as a pink-skinned mascot, bundled up in newfound clothing, at the International Museum Expo.
The art historian Naman Ahuja speculates that the Dancing Girl may have been a warrior, not a dancer, reminding us that all historical artifacts are shaped by how we view them, and co-opted into specific frames of it reference. Hallucinations of an Artifact performatively disrupts the linear articulations and narratives framing the Dancing Girl, bringing this irreverently playful and notoriously unclassifiable artifact to life.
CREDITS:
Performers and Collaborators: Akanksha Kumari, Manju Sharma and Mandeep Raikhy
Choreographer: Mandeep Raikhy
Visual Artist and Environment: Jonathan O’Hear
Additional Live Lighting Design: Pranshu Shrimali (Tech Quartet)
Music Composer: Anirban Ghosh (Baan G), Opening Track by Marcel Zaes
Rehearsal Director: Parinay Mehra
Costume Design and Construction: Sidharth Sarcar & Rajakumar
Creative Contributors: Meghna Bhardwaj, Aseng Borang, Jasmine Yadav, Parinay Mehra and Ranjana Dave
Executive Producers: Sandbox Collective
Supported by: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Voices from the South Programme of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society (curated by the Pickle Factory Dance Foundation) and Dance Nucleus Singapore.
Developed in Residency at Black Box Okhla, Khuli Khirkee and The Company Theatre Workspace.
In collaboration with: Sandbox Collective
Sandbox Collective is a women-led organisation that works at the intersection of art and gender. Co-founded by Shiva Pathak and Nimi Ravindran in 2013 with the motive of creating better access to arts and performance. Their journey thus far has seen them take on multiple roles, including that of creative producers, curators and presenters of performances and arts festivals across India and Internationally.
Artistes
Akanksha Kumari
Akanksha is a dance practitioner whose major interest lies in performance and performance making. She has participated and performed in the Tanzplan Dance Education Biennale 2020 in Hamburg, Germany. Akanksha completed her Master’s degree in Performance Practice (Dance) from Ambedkar University Delhi. She is from Etah, Uttar Pradesh and currently based in New Delhi.
Manju Sharma
Manju Sharma began her dance career in the year 2004. Since then, she has performed in multiple cities including New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hamburg, Singapore, Zurich, Bern, to name a few. She has been a Visiting Faculty at National School of Drama, New Delhi.
Mandeep Raikhy
Mandeep Raikhy is a Delhi-based choreographer. He completed a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre at Laban in 2005 and then toured with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company. Since 2010, Mandeep has created and toured widely with several dance works, notably a male ant has straight antennae (2013) and Queen-size (2016). In 2009, he has been involved in several initiatives such as Gati Dance Forum, Khuli Khirkee and the MA Performance Practice (Dance) at Ambedkar University, Delhi.
Baan G
Baan G is a fusician, composter, sound definer who is interested in exploring the intersectional tiles between artforms, and the possibilities of bending sound.
Jonathan O'Hear
Jonathan O’Hear’s work is often, but not exclusively, technological. As an experimental artist, he is currently co-founder and co-director of the artistic collective, Association de Malfaiteurs and the AiiA experimental art laboratory. His work has been presented throughout the world and most recently at the CCS – Paris, Musée Tinguely – Basel, Villa Bernasconi – Geneva, Fonderie Kugler – Geneva, Médiathèque de Biarritz, Fluxum – Geneva, Analix Forever – Geneva, Centre d’art Contemporain – Geneva, Indent – Delhi, Trinity college.
Sidharth Sarcar
Sidharth Sarcar is an architect with a specialisation in Landscape Design. He is also an academician who teaches design and its application in everyday life. He has a keen interest in design, production and construction of fabric and costumes. His knowledge of diverse construction materials is explored in this performance.
Pranshu Shrimali
Pranshu Shrimali is a lighting designer and performer based in New Delhi. He is one of the co-founders of Tech Quartet, a technical design collective which aims to explore newer avenues for technical production in an attempt to enhance the artistic process. In his free time, you will find Pranshu staring into the abyss.
Sandbox Collective
Sandbox Collective is a women-led organisation that works at the intersection of art and gender. Co-founded by Shiva Pathak and Nimi Ravindran in 2013 with the motive of creating better access to arts and performance. Their journey thus far has seen them take on multiple roles, including that of creative producers, curators and presenters of performances and arts festivals across India and Internationally.
