What do an Indian, French and German do when they are thrown together in the same city and under the same roof? They forge a new kind of friendship over art, transcending language, culture and culinary differences.
Nepal-born Indian artist Harendra Kumar Kushwaha, French filmmaker Laurent Reyes and German installation and performance artiste Ida Roscher spent seven weeks together as part of an Indo-European Residency project, the first of its kind to be held in Calcutta. The three artists shared their experience of the residency, initiated by Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Alliance Francaise, CIMA and Visva-Bharati University, at a meet-and-greet session on November 6, the last day of the residency project, on the Park Mansion rooftop.
It was not easy for Kushwaha, the winner of the CIMA Award 2017, to share space with two Europeans. “My English is broken. I used to feel nervous to even participate in international events. I was so scared to live with two strangers,” said Kushwaha.
Laurent, on his second visit to the city, and Roscher on her first were equally anxious. But frosty silences and initial discomfort melted away over shared meals, experiences and a wonderful creative journey. “I had a love-hate relationship with Calcutta. I was not sure I wanted to return to the city after having lived here for a while. But here I was back on a residency programme to inculcate new experiences,” said Reyes.
The best part of the project, according to the trio, was being free of any deadlines or the expectation to perform. “But as we explored various facets of city life, the roads of Calcutta and its people, we ended up embarking on new projects,” added Reyes.
“Calcutta has a huge influence on my artwork,” added Kushwaha.
Reyes shared a few of his pictures and clips from his short film that he is in the process of shooting.
Roscher, whose main area of interest includes criminology, shared with the audience how her Calcutta diaries began with Durga Puja. “Initially it was too noisy and crowded and then I realised how amid all the din, art stands out in public places. Immersion was yet another learning process. In Germany, we try to preserve art and heritage. Here I saw all the hard work getting washed away. Post-puja the streets became unrecognisable and it was like knowing Calcutta all over again,” said Roscher, who plans to return to the city soon to take her cause (helping trafficked survivors) to the next level. “We need to use public places for art better. It’s difficult to connect with artistes in Calcutta. It was much easier in Santiniketan where we spent a couple of days,” she added.
In between all the hard work, the trio cooked for each other and took care of each other, bonding in the process. “Seven weeks is too short a time,” added Kushwaha, way more confident after the project.
Chandreyee Ghose
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
