Factory 14s, 2007

Mattress Factory

See video clip to the right.

During the residencies of four installation artists from India, Mansi Bhatt, Krishnaraj Chonat, Sudarshan Shetty, and Navin Thomas, a group of teens developed three installations of their own in response to conversations with the artists and a local Indian family, travelers, collections of artifacts and media representations of  contemporary events in India.

Sreeality
Began with a video interview in the home of local Indian restaurant owner and family. The resulting installation contrasts facts about India with video of the Sree family at home, spices, smells, flowers, colors, shoes, and artifacts.

Ganeshatubbi
As the students wrote in their wall text “Ganesh, one of the most significant deities in the Hindu religion, is wrapped in corrupting icons that our culture revolves around. This contrast what our modern cultures believe in and the ancient values of spirituality. In Ganesh’s belly there is a video of an Indian woman/tourist trinket driving around Pittsburgh viewing the sites. Ganesh’s crown is made of packaging materials and he holds an ipod in one of his multiple hands.

Shadow Puppets of India
This installation contrasts stereotypical images of India, like the Taj Mahal, with news clippings of contemporary daily events, small holes in the screen the screen reveal a shadow puppet video students made with artifacts from India.

Video Loop

Video Loop