In the Absence of Writing: Astha Butail's new exhibition features installations inspired by ancient traditions of oral poetry
Astha Butail’s exhibition is heavily inspired by her observations recorded during her study of the Indian Vedas, Zoroastrian Avesta and Jewish Oral Torah
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An exhibition titled In The Absence of Writing at 24 Jor Bagh in Delhi has on display works by artist Astha Butail based on her study of the ancient philosophies and their transmission through generations. This sculpture named Forever, is made up of parts of musical wind instruments. The fragments of the several instruments put together aim to call to mind inconsistencies in stories that result from oral transmission. Image courtesy GallerySKE and The Gujral Foundation
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The exhibition is a site-specific experimental project presented by the Gujral Foundation. Butail has used video, sound, sculpture and interactive installations to offer the viewers glimpses of these collective performances. Image courtesy GallerySKE and The Gujral Foundation
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It dissolves perfection, one of the exhibits on display, is an installation composed of sixty identical frames, each equipped with a disc that the viewer can interact with. The mechanics of the disc are said to be inspired by a folk toy. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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Butail has been a student of the ancient languages of Sanskrit, Avestan and Hebrew. and has studied the Indian Vedas, Zoroastrian Avesta and Jewish Oral Torah in these languages. Her work featured in the exhibition is extensively inspired by her observations recorded during this research. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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The thin black lines on the circular discs in the interactive installation, It dissolves perfection, allude to the hands of a clock — each representing one minute and together forming an hour. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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The lines in this installation are aligned perfectly at the outset and their perfection dissolves when a viewer chooses a random minute from an hour to set it in motion. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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Another interactive installation in the exhibit, And Secrets are Secrets, calls on viewers to write or draw self-portraits. The set of handmade books have no outlined format or structure and the viewer can either respond to a previous entry or start a new chapter. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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Stir A Miracle uses the medium of sound to engage with the audience and is created as an homage to sound and utterance. It is a collection of vowel sounds extracted from the recordings of Butail’s travels during her research trips. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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The pursuit of oldest living traditions from the ages of 6500 to 3000 BC took Butail on extensive travels through India, Iran and Israel. Her solo exhibit has on show There is enough room for everything, that features the Iran tent from her video installation, Of a Flux of Hopes. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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Of a Flux of Hopes features Butail’s travels through India, Iran and Israel as she interviewed practitioners of three ancient oral traditions — Rig Veda, Oral Torah, and Avesta. The artist carried a mobile tent made of wood, muslin and gauze on these journeys that served as a sound space where scholars, community elders and other practitioners of oral traditions gathered to recite and perform. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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In the display Of a Flux of Hopes, the wall projection overlaps with another video playing in the cabinet such that the India video juxtaposed with Iran’s, Iran’s is juxtaposed with Jerusalem and so on to showcase the idea of a ‘a story within a story’. Image via Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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Butail’s exhibition, In the Absence of Writing, will be on display at 24 Jor Bagh in New Delhi from 2 February to 28 February, 2019. Image courtesy Astha Butail studio and The Gujral Foundation
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