Mumbai: Head to CST to experience diversity in art

Hong Kongbased sound designer Wong Chun Hoi interviews commuters at CST for a lsquoDJ Stationrsquo that will broadcast these recordings PIC SAYED SAMEER ABEDIWhile Bori Bunder railway station mdash on which now stands the magnificent CST mdash has long faded away from public memory and the urban landscape an art festival will capture the spirit of the original 19th century railway station encounters 2016 ndashBori Bunder Platform 8 will open on Saturday and run till November 26The festival will also host interactive installations exhibitions and talks across various venues such as Sir JJ College of Art Palladium Mall in Lower Parel and the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art but will be centred around Mumbairsquos first rail centre of commerce and cosmopolitanism After all in 1853 the first train in the Indian subcontinent ran from Thane to Bori BunderArtist Chu Yiu Wai tinkers with the Art Making Machine which works every time a commuter puts in cardboard lsquocoinsrsquo that read lsquoA Piece of ArtrsquoBori Bunder mdash which means a warehouse for jute goods mdash used to function as a place where merchants would collect goods that arrived from other parts of the country During the colonial rule it was a central hub and a strategic stronghold But the name Bori Bunder doesnrsquot exist anymore mdash these exist across the city every place has its own Bori Bunder now mdash a haven of sacksrdquo says Leandre DrsquoSouza curator and cofounder of ArtOxygen a contemporary art organisation that is presenting the festivalPeggy Chan with one of the six circular metallic bowls that carry good wishes for people passing byThe first set of artworks which will be installed on platform 8 at CST on Saturday will be presented by artists based in Hong Kong Others from India the UAE and Italy will followPublic perceptionWong Chun Hoi a sound designer and engineer who has designed games to eliminate plastic has been visiting CST in the past week talking to commuters about their experience with one of Mumbairsquos busiest stations These audio recordings will be part of a lsquoDJ stationrsquo composed of tiny radios placed around various sites starting with CST ldquoIn my conversations with people one of them told me that he was waiting at the station to use WiFirdquo says HoiArtist duo Come Inside mdash Mak YingTung left and Wong KaYing mdash unravel a spool of heartshaped bubble wrap for their installation called Obstacle The structure itself will be formed out of bubble wrap procured from China as a satirical ploy to lsquoimport Chinese air to IndiarsquoldquoWe want to see what happens when we move from a studio to a space where we have little control How will the work of art be received and perceived What is the reciprocal relationship between city and artworkrdquo says DrsquoSouzaPrevious editions of encounters have looked at similar concerns such as in 2011 under the theme lsquothe fluid cityrsquo In this edition a number of artists had responded to the role of water in the megapolis Artist Prajakta Potnis for instance had traced with chalk the border of a lake in Thane that was fast drying up ldquoShe had met with resistance with locals who suspected her to be a civil engineerrdquo says DrsquoSouza Now in its seventh edition the theme of the festival is lsquodiversityrsquoCommuters collaborateIn line with the theme Peggy Chan a Hong Kongbased artist will present Happy Birthday a sound installation from which commuters will be able to encounter the familiar birthday chant in three languages mdash English Mandarin and Cantonese mdash some which are by Indians residing in Hong KongIn such a space artists whether international or from India are no longer part of a topdown creative approach Rather they are like makers and take on different roles like an interviewer We know the starting point for the art but the audience which interacts with the artwork determines the endrdquo says DrsquoSouza adding that several works to be presented at the festival have a long process to them allowing commuters and visitors to become collaborators with the work Take the case of Chu Yiu Wairsquos Art Making Machine intended as a vending machine for art Little cards printed with ldquoKeep it This is a record of your dream You fill my soulrdquo become artcoins which can be inserted into the gadget to make it work Speaking in Cantonese Wai says he has drawn on money as a symbol for the ubercommercial metropolis of Hong Kong a symbol that can be relatable to Mumbai as well ldquoThis is my way of saying that without local support from people artists cannot surviverdquoAmong others multimedia storyteller Owais Husain will showcase a videowork on the stationrsquos inflow and outflow of goods artist collective Come Inside Mak YingTung and Wong KaYing reveal their satirical ploy to release Chinese air into India through heartshaped bubble wrap while Teja Gavankar will present an animation video and sculptures of rangolilike designs collaboratively made with commuters ldquoWhile the works are experimental and processbased we have paid attention to balance aesthetics with ethics The artist has the responsibility to not diminish the value of art just because it is collaborative or participatoryrdquo says DrsquoSouza