Borrowing its title from William Farley’s 1986 documentary on the legendary Indian classical vocalist Pandit Pran Nath, whose sonic explorations laid the underlying framework of some of the most celebrated avant-garde practitioners of sound art in the 1970s, Experimenter is presenting In Between The Notes. The exhibition, at the Ballygunge address, presents works of noted artists like Lala Rukh, Parul Thacker, Superhero Sighting Society (Taus Makhacheva and Sabih Ahmed), Biraaj Dodiya and Samson Young, bringing together practices that either directly root themselves within sound as material, or are based on aural influences and training. It draws from a wide range of practices and experiments with frequencies and explores the auditory phenomena, pausing at silences and reflecting on the absences which remain audible.
At first, the series of delicately constructed embroidered artwork by Parul Thacker seems to be mere abstract lines, running from one corner to another. However, a closer look reveals drawings made with black thread on airy silk, based on alchemical and metaphysical representations of ancient philosophies, energy fields that use mathematical definitions and constructions of pure intuition
Varied in its display, each of the exposition appeals to the senses elucidating different responses among the viewers. It starts with Pandit Pran Nath’s voice, programmed to a raga cycle, timed to the hour of the day, in one of the first rooms at the gallery. Very organically and without any external coaxing it amounts to surrendering to the notes. The other exhibitions continue the sonic experience in their own ways. In Between The Notes will be on for view till October 14.
The sculptures of Superhero Sighting Society, conceived by Sabih Ahmed and Taus Makhacheva transports one into a soundscape of multiple languages testifying to the sighting of superheroes from around the world. It raises awareness and promotes conversations around new figurations of power in the 21st century.
