It is a month of art shows at the Sunaparanta-Goa Centre for the Arts. The Altinho- based art centre has two exhibitions on display.
‘Buttered Bread on a Cat’s Back’, showcases the works of the mentees from edition four of the Sunaparanta Art Initiator Lab (SAIL). It marks the culmination of a 10-month mentorship programme in which 10 Goa-based creative practitioners engaged in a journey of artistic development under the guidance of art historian Lina Vincent. The programme provided a space for critical exchange, experimentation, and reflection, allowing participants to expand their practices through dialogue, mentorship, and peer learning.
Drawing inspiration from the buttered cat paradox, where a cat always lands on its feet and buttered toast always falls butter-side down, ‘Buttered Bread on a Cats Back’ reflects on the contradictions that shape our experience of land, belonging, and transformation. The works explore the paradox of preservation in a world of constant flux, inviting viewers into spaces where contradiction, negotiation, and imagination coexist.
The participating artists are Leticia Alvares, Siddhi Arsekar, Shubham Chari, Rutika Dessai, Deepa George, Geetesh Gawas Pritesh Naik, Nehal Parker, Shriya Pant, and Venkatesh Pai
The exhibition features works across mediums, including installation, video, drawing, object-based art, and storytelling, forming a multidisciplinary showcase that challenges fixed meanings and embraces ambiguity.
The second art exhibition showcases the ongoing research and investigations by the three recipients of the VM Salgaocar Fellowship & Emerging Artist Grants 2023-24.
Farah Mulla’s research takes root in the story of Abbé Faria, the forgotten Goan father of modern hypnotism. Her works ‘Lumen’ and ‘Erasure’, are part of her ongoing project ‘Radical Ephemeralities’, and explore the gaps and overlaps in human cognition through the immaterial materialities of light, sound, and memory. Wenceslaus Mendes’ ‘Kalchi Kodi’ is a reimagining of Alan Sekula’s `A Fish Story’. Through an interdisciplinary, archival, and multi-medium approach, the project explores how shifts in technology, environment, and climate change affect gender roles and the traditional fishing communities of the Konkan region in Goa. Kiran Tamboskar’s ‘Co-Creation: A Human Ritual’ is an installation rooted in a deeply personal yet universally shared experience. What began as memories of temple drumming from childhood grew into a broader exploration of memory, sound, community, and the human need for connection—especially through ritual.
Both the exhibitions are on till July 15.
