Deeksha Nath

This Grant was Terminated by IFA and the Grantee is ineligible to apply to IFA in the future.

Deeksha Nath is a curator based in Delhi. The exhibition that will evolve from her research will focus on the ‘performative’ aspect of the ragamala paintings. Deeksha would like to invite a group of contemporary performance artists to respond to the visual, textual and aural aspects of the paintings. Deeksha’s project will draw on what she sees as the similarity between ragamala paintings and performance with the human body as the centre of artistic work. The ragamala paintings ‘located their modes of expression on the human body- a body in longing, in sadness, in joy, etc’ Deeksha mentions, and performance artists ‘use their body as a vehicle to communicate ideas and articulate emotions.’ Deeksha describes her project as locating history within the contemporary; of setting up a dialogue with history that is all encompassing – not simply a moment to ‘look back’ but an attempt to ‘bring forward’ and ‘draw within’.