Bhubaneswar: The archival travelling art exhibition titled “Boy Dancer: Convergence and Continuum- A Revisiting” with art works by Birendra Pani and with artistic direction of Dr. Rajashree Biswal organised by New Bridge India in collaboration with Odisha State Museum and supported by Ila Panda Centre for Arts. The exhibition was inaugurated on 14th of June, 2024 at 4.30 pm and continued till 29th of June, 2024 at Odisha State Museum (Art Gallery), Bhubaneswar.
Distinguished guests presented on the inaugural function were Padma Shri Debi Prasanna Pattanayak Eminent Linguist; Shri Dilip Kumar Routray, Director & Addl. Secretary Odia Language, Literature & Culture Dept., Govt. of Odisha; Dr. Nibedita Mohanty, Eminent Historian; Mr. Anil Dhir, INTACH, Odisha; Guru Shri Gobinda Pal, Eminent Gotipua Guru; Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Eminent Literary Critic and Writer; Paramita Panda, Founder Trustee Ila Panda Centre for Arts (IPCA); Ramahari Jena, Eminent Artist, Dr. Bhagyalipi Malla Superintendent, Odisha State Museum and Dr. Rajashree Biswal, Artistic & Curatorial Director, New Bridge India.
The exhibition is a relooking of the art exhibition “Boy Dancer: Convergence and Continuum” which was held at MS University Art Gallery, Vadodara and Gallery Espace New Delhi in 2007.
The previous exhibitions, in an ethnographic and artistic way, had not only underscored the distinct aesthetics and cultural identities of the Gotipua dance and the dancers of Odisha, but also about their vulnerable condition then. The exhibition further endeavoured to create a new aesthetic experience at the interactive interface of visual arts and performing arts.
The present exhibition “Boy Dancer: Convergence and Continuum- A Revisiting”, was shown at School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University (2024) containing old and new art works of paintings, drawings, photographs, and video-based art works.
The large portraits of Gotipua Dancer Series foreground the subjectivities of Gotipua dancers; a series of drawing based art works Revisioning Gotipua highlight the root, cultural sensibility and challenges of the dancers in a poetic way; Gotipua Dancers: Transitions and Transformation Series photographs highlight their transformation during the performance and in their real life at present; the Proscenium Stories and the Bandha Nrutyas photographs portray the significant and evocative aspects of the dance form; the Handmade Memories: Gotipua Dance Drawing Series is a creative reflection by the artist of the dance form, the video work titled Boy Dancer: Convergence and Continuum-A Revisiting is the reflections of the Gotipua dancers who are now placed in diverse domains of life.
This exhibition intends toward ‘re-signifying’ the aesthetics, fostering new kinds of viewers and audience, and opening new discursive spaces about this dance in the contemporary times.
The exhibition was Specially Supported by Ila Panda Centre of Arts (IPCA) and Other supporters were Sarat Chandra Library, Bhubaneswar; PPL, MIO, SDRC, Siddha Foundation.
