Genius Loci
In phase one I succeeded in defining my area of study, learning about projecting video, building installations, and the limitations involved. Phase two is about capturing a "feeling" of Mumbai. But what is this feeling, this intangible "sense of place," and how can I create a space that communicates it effectively. The city is a multi-layered, complex and rich experience. No one has identical perceptions of something that is so much in flux, so huge in scale. At the same time there is an underlying recognition of its flavour, a distinctive personality that can be called its Genius Loci. In trying to pinpoint this atmosphere of Mumbai, something which is intrinsic in my memories of the city, and which all Mumbaikars are familiar with, I questioned my original plan of building a 360 panorama in a closed studio space.
An outdoor location is one of the ways I plan to solve this riddle. Although it is technically difficult to build an installation outside a controlled studio set-up, I am of the opinion that the right place can physically represent the city, and communicate a lot more than well-edited video or sound ever could.
Place-making is discussed in detail here.
Reference
Menin, S. (2003). Constructing Place Mind and Matter. London: Routledge.
Bournemouth Signage
It took me a while to notice the sheer number of signs in and around my place at Bournemouth, some verging on the ridiculous. And I can't resist taking pictures of signage :D
More posts about Bournemouth; And more posts on signage from all over.
Chris Welsby
We were introduced to Chris Welsby during a research talk recently, and I found his work Windmill III and The Frame inspiring and innovative. His work Cloud Fragments also connected back to my graphic skylines from phase one.
Reference
Welsby, C. (1972) British Artist's Films, Chris Welsby. [DVD]. BFI.
luxmovingimage. (2009). Chris Welsby - Artist Interview. [online]. Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3fdZewJc3Y&feature=player_embedded#at=20 [Date accessed 3rd April 2011]
Projecting on Textures
Stumbling on the photograph below inspired me to explore projections on outdoor urban surfaces such as cement. The massive pillars give shape and personality to the projected paintings, changing their meaning.
"An extraordinary exhibition held in former bauxite mines in Provence. The hollow caves and pillars are used to project images, constantly changing and overlapping each other." Photo and description by dorsetlass @ flickr.
Mumbai Memories
After noticing the autobiographical trend in my work, I looked at my past posts on Mumbai. I've kept a partially anonymous life blog since 2009 and this became an important resource for me to remember what images and events I felt were important enough to blog about. The oldest posts about Mumbai are from August 2009. I've inserted some photographs from the life blog below:
Update April 27th: The image below is a sketch of a concept inspired by one of my school memories of Mumbai. While travelling on the school bus, we stopped to drop off a student and I noticed a single chappal on the tar road. There was a small pool of bright blood beneath it, and a few bricks lying around it. I wondered what happened, and guessed that there had been an accident recently, and these were the leftovers. It had definitely happened recently, but no crowd of onlookers remained and the traffic on the road avoided the single slipper and bricks easily. The idea is to recreate this memory as I remember it, with the blood being bright and overshadowing the rest of the details within the picture.
60 MPC
Sixty Million Postcards is about three minutes walking from my place, has a great atmosphere, free entry, affordable drinks, and most importantly - good music. I've seen them asking people for membership cards before entry but as far as I know that only happens to people the bouncers don't like (not me). And they actually have hundreds and millions of postcards stuck on the bar and the ceiling and everywhere.
I had terrible luck yesterday though. It was too crowded because I forgot it was Saturday, an annoying good-looking blonde next to me took ten minutes to decide what to have, the bartender ignored me in favour of the blonde (of course), the guy behind me dropped his drink on my boots, and when I waved at another bartender to get his attention, a third one said I should stop waving or I would never get a drink. Now check out some random fan messages left for 60 mpc in the girls bathroom:
Shooting in Mumbai
My first time shooting without a crew. My second time doing a proper film shoot, ever.
Recording ambient sounds from the 25th floor in Thane:
Framing:
Merry-Go-Round
At the main square in Bournemouth: The carousel feels creepy despite all the decoration because too many movies I've watched feature this as a site of horror and/or murder.
Mini-Wada
The museum in Vishrambagwada is temporarily closed due to restoration work, but I managed to look at a few exhibits. The courtyard was littered with exhibits: models of famous wada's and historical buildings from Pune's history. It's ironic that these tiny models with cheap plastic figures are stored inside an actual wada, which by contrast is beautiful and original.
See more posts on Pune.
Old Library
Walking around Vishrambagwada became a clickathon, and I ended up in this ancient green library on the top floor.
See more posts on Pune.
How to Live in a Foreign Country: Six Easy Steps
1. Clothes: As soon as you land you need to decide whether you want to fit in or stand out and LOOK like a foreigner. Sometimes the colour of your skin decides that for you. But all is not lost, a few casual adjustments to your wardrobe and you can fade into the crowd. The other option is easy: just keep wearing whatever you bloody like no matter what the temperature is or how many weird stares you get. This is called the permanent tourist method. 2. Food: Either start loving the food in local restaurants or LEARN HOW TO COOK LIKE YOUR MOM. For most of us the latter is impossible, so you're left with the more adventurous option - tolerate the local food and surprise yourself everyday with new discoveries. E.g. "Yum!," or "I'm never going to that place again!" or "Oh God the horror..." Beware: after several months your adventurous nature may disappear.
3. Transport: The most fun part of any new country is the unpredictable and new buses, taxi's, roads, and train services. If you are from a country with a horrible and inefficient system you will appreciate the calm monotony of a dependable service. If you are from a country with awesome transport you will hate it and need to improve your survival skills.
4. Night Life: If you manage to make cool friends in the foreign country you will go to to the best places in town which are awesome no matter where you are (seriously, anywhere). If you don't make cool friends then you can meet other losers like yourself and stumble around the foreign country in an adventurous and potentially dangerous (in some places) manner. This is also okay.
5. Weather: If you are very good at living in a foreign country and manage the first four steps easily, then I can assure you that weather is always a problem. If you are from a very cold country you will love the warm and unbearably hot temperature and bake yourself pink everyday until you fall sick. If you are from a hot country you will hate the frozen foreign land and wonder why God has forsaken these people.
6. Language: This is the deal breaker for most people. The most practical thing to do is to choose a foreign country where you KNOW THE LANGUAGE. If you are stupid you will not do this. Instead you will try to learn an absolutely new language and in some cases, new SCRIPT, and struggle to do simple tasks like buying bread and reading the menu. You are truly an adventurous spirit because after one year of this you will either become an expert or start hating this complex and mystical foreign language. In extreme cases you can just use sign language, with a calculator, and point at things (this is also part of the permanent tourist method and locals will secretly or openly hate you depending on how polite the foreign country is).
Mastering these six steps will make you an expert in living in foreign countries, and don't let the negativity fool you, it's actually awesome fun! (sometimes).
Or check out Nine Advantages of Living in the Third World
Vishrambagwada
During my recent trip to Pune I made a point to visit Vishrambagwada. It was built in 1807 and has a long and interesting history. Today a few rooms are used as a government office, the top floor is an old library, and other parts are still being renovated. The museum is closed due to restoration work, but I managed to see a few rooms anyway. While taking photographs I was eventually stopped and told I need permission, but a few minutes of convincing later I managed to get inside to the upper floors. :)
See more posts on Pune.
African Sculptures
Highway Market
A rest stop off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway sells Lonavala goodies like jellysweets, strawberries, chikki, and chocolate fudge. Along with magazines and coffee for the bored traveller.
Timbuctoo
A small open-air pub in Mulund, its one of the few decent pubs that actually exist in that side of town. What I love about it is that it's a no-nonsense drinks place, the music does not torture the ear drums, and its hidden away behind Pop Tates and Urban Tadka; behind a door saying "18 years and above." Though this could be construed as shady, it has never really put me off, and although the crowd is at times full of kids definitely below 18, it's worth a visit or two.
See more posts on Mumbai.
