Discovery of the other self

For artist Seema Kohli, art is about an inwardly quest—an exploration of the self. Consequentially, her forthcoming solo exhibition is titled The Other Self. “Through the latest body of work, one could say that I am trying to look into the other person within me,” she says. What resonated with the famous line from American poet Walt Whitman: ‘I contain multitudes’, Seema seems to look into her conscious from an objective distance. To explain it further, she adds, “The way I see it, there are multiple personalities within each one of us at different levels of consciousness and my body of work is an amalgamation of all these data that I acquired through reading, though experience or even by hearing.”

The curators have cited her work as an outcome of “immersing herself through the readings of The Bhagavad Gita Shakti, Sufi contexts and various other philosophies”.

As a student, Seema had studied philosophy in Miranda House, University of Delhi. In 2007, she was honoured with Lalit Kala Akademi Awards for Women. In 2009, her 2-channel video installation, Swayamsiddha, won the Gold Medal at Florence Biennale.

The Other Self comprises of her works in the last two years and contains different mediums. “There are painting, etchings, fibre and bronze sculptures and even video art,” she says. The Delhi-based artist has embraced the coexistence of the traditional elements and latest technology. According to her, using different medium is a much more fulfilling enterprise. “I call my video art as experiential videos. I call them so because they are experiences captured of people whom I have worked closely with. And they have been with me on a kind of spiritual journey, if you will. Also the idea that separate mediums can work in different ways is what brings me to it—the experience sort of enriches you more.”

However, she cautions the younger artists not to force the idea on their work. “It has to be sahaj—the idea is to be organic and not to go stagnant,” she points out. “The primary aim should be to keep moving and have fluidity in the work.”

When asked about the current developments and debates regarding the issues of intolerance and freedom of speech, the 55-year-old artist hints that the ultimate freedom is to constantly be able to create new ideas. “My freedom of expression cannot be robbed and subdued and it is well within my rights. In fact, it is not in India, but I’m sad to say, this freedom is at stake across the globe.” However she seemed to be very positive of the future, “If you look into the past, several civilisations have gone through crisis and they have moved on. So I am quite positive about our future.” According to her, everything will be in its right place, as long as “expression keeps on moving ahead.”

From December 1, At Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Fort