Rahul Anand
Rahul Ananad’s performance Sound in Silence is an experimental piece of work which combines music, acting and visual art. the piece was showcased in the second edition of Dhaka Art Summit yesterday. The forty minutes long performance explores the concept of co-existence of emptiness and fulfillment through sound and the absence of sound, the reciprocity of continuity and above all, the balance of these two.
Rahul spreads a lot of red roses and green betel leaf on the stage for the visual performance and then he started to play the violin from one end of a long white fabric, travels the length of the fabric playing music and then mutes it on the other end. The white fabric was used symbolically to represent the path of life and the music represented life. The rose petals and betel leaves were the elements that allures man into temptation.
Rahul Anand is a musician, performance artist and theatre activist and has been included in international group shows in India and Japan.
Sunil Sigdel
Nepalese artist Sunil Sigdel showcased his experimental performance titled My Blood, Your Script & Bull Tongue at the Dhaka Art Summit. The piece was a combination of sound and visuals. In the twenty minutes long performance, Sunil explored how the Nepalese government and the British government are manipulating Gurkha soldiers as a “live product” and how illiteracy and unemployment are acting as the driving force for young people into risking their lives in foreign lands.
Sunil creates soothing explosive sound of matchsticks and then he coats blood on his face and body with the sticks. The performance reflects the hardest parts of the Gurkha soldiers’ lives before joining the British Army. The world knows only of the Gurkhas’ brave stories, but no one has looked into the reality behind this bravery. During the First & Second World War, more than 251,000 Nepalese Gurkhas fought and 60,000 lost their lives.
Sunil Sigdel’s work explores the socio-political crisis of Nepal, as well as the other parts of the globe. He has exhibited extensively in Nepal and abroad and has participated in several workshops and residencies in Nepal, Scotland, India, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Denmark and Pakistan.
