The phrase that got me interested in multi-faceted artist/actor Lekha Washington’s recent body of work is — ‘in the end, the collective visual is that of repetitive monotony.’ Repetitive monotony. That is what ultimately the whole world is made of, what we are made of — repetition of cells upon cells to make the entire body. But, even so, we are not just an accumulation of trillions of cells. We also have a soul. And that is the intangible that actually makes us what we are.So, what was Washington doing with ‘repetitive monotony’? She had made it the subject of her latest art exhibition at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, titled “The Collective Noun or A Pound of Flesh and Suchlike.” As it will become clear by and by, the show was not just about repetitive monotony but had come with a brilliant soul that the artist in Washington had infused it with.It was a collection of art works and installations that were a superb take on the collective nouns that pepper and spice up the English language.Washington, who trained as a filmmaker at the prestigious National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and is a well-known face in Tamil/ Telugu film industry (she has also appeared in Hindi films), says it’s her obsession to keep doing things that led her to work on the theme for the show at Sakshi Gallery. “I’ve always been interested in the way collective nouns have been formed, and are used. And eventually, it led me to work on it as an artist, to take a tongue-in-cheek look at how collective nouns play out as pieces of art,” says Washington.Collective nouns actually are a great delight to read, especially the ones that are politically incorrect, frank, and perhaps, whimsically accurate in some sense. “Some are really morbid,” says Washington and quotes the example of ‘a greed of lawyers,’ ‘a parliament of guerillas,’ ‘an ingratitude of children,’ and so on. “Besides, I’ve also made up some of my own and executed them for the show. For instance, ‘a dervish of tornadoes,’ and ‘a cellulite of oranges’.”The piece titled ‘A Dervish of Tornadoes,’ was a mass of three billowing, wispy fabrics swirling like a tornado, as if dancing in synchronization. This best exemplified the soul in the repetitive monotony that Washington put in it, especially when one stood in the middle of a tornado-fabric and felt a dizzying experience as the fabric swirled around one’s being; it instantly gave expression to man’s position in the world’s whirlwind as a mere mortal caught in a series of actions that are not entirely of his making. “It’s fairly hypnotic, to stand in the centre of this tornado. It’s like meditating when the television is on in full volume, the possibility of receding to an inner place of calm despite chaos all around,” elaborates the artist.“A Cellulite of Oranges” explored our relationship with skin. By covering a perfect orange with skin, it immediately becomes vulgar, no matter what the color of the skin is. It’s a means to prove that ultimately we all fall from the same tree.Another interesting work was the gigantic “A Pigeonholing of Windows,” which was entirely executed with stamps. Viewers were invited to personalize their window from a hundred stamps. Therefore, even in a collective setting, there was scope for survival of every kind of individuality; there was a certain personalization even with the larger repetitive monotony. It alluded to an individual’s place in society and the nature of the self v/s the collective. “My works in the ‘Collective Noun’ series are all self-reflective, even if in a subtle way,” says Washington. “There were many collective nouns that got me really interested or amused or even annoyed, but I choose only those that I could execute with the aim to allow an exploration of the self, works that would help me and the viewer to go within oneself.”Even as I wonder at the sheer brilliance of Washington’s conceptual art in her last show, I can’t help but ask her the highly clichéd question that she must be used to, especially as an actor. How do you switch from one to the other, considering that a full-length feature film where you play the female lead must be as taxing and heavy-duty as preparing for a solo exhibition at a gallery as prestigious as Sakshi, I ask. “I think I’m happiest when I’ stressed. But on a serious note, I think my two identities feed each other. As an actor, one has to give up oneself to somebody else’s vision, which can be difficult at times. However, I can handle that because I’m also an artist and my exhibitions such as “The Collective Noun,” allow me to be totally myself and give my expression complete freedom,” responds Washington.With a big solo exhibition behind her now, Washington must be poised for a refreshing stint in front of the camera. What does that make her? We can now start thinking of nouns that describe such a talent.Follow@ARTINFOIndia
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