Renowned for introducing Goa to the latest global innovations and beloved traditions of the art world, Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) 2024 will showcase six international artworks that are having their debut viewing and may never be exhibited in India again at the Excise Building, in the heart of Panaji city.
‘Geographies of Yourself’ brings together various artistic relics and symbols that aim to establish a person’s role within their landscape. Therefore, the Excise Building becomes a fitting space for a project that puts the spotlight on humanity’s attempt to constantly contextualise our surroundings.
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, American independent filmmaker James Benning, Ethiopian-born Indian artist Sheba Chhachhi, Argentine contemporary artist Tomás Saraceno, and the late Indian artist Zarina Hashmi have their works displayed on the walls of a building that is arguably one of urban Goa’s lifelines.
Olafur Eliasson’s exhibit ‘Deep Cosmological Constant Collective’ (2019) is a collection of glass spheres that mirror the environment in which they are installed, reflecting the colours yellow and black when viewed at different angles, symbolising the day-night and seasonal cycle. The art installation weighs over 1.5 tons. The piece was exhibited only once in Delhi over 3 years ago and is being showcased now in Goa, explained the organisers.
Captured in thousands of vibrant Woma blocks – a Chinese brand similar to Lego, Ai Weiwei’s interpretation of French Impressionist Claude Monet’s dreamlike series of paintings, ‘Water Lilies’, is a visual wonderland, that highlights the digitisation of imagery and the modern dissemination of visual information.
“We at the Serendipity Arts Festival are proud to showcase ‘Geographies of Yourself’ at the ninth edition of the festival at the Excise Building, which is one of the most significant projects we have ever exhibited. The city of Panaji always holds a special place in our hearts, and we look forward to seeing people interact with these special exhibits,” said Smriti Rajgarhia, Director, Serendipity Arts and Serendipity Arts Festival.
One of the 22-plus venues that are hosting the upcoming festival from December 15-22, the Excise Building will be the temporary home of the exhibition ‘Geographies of Yourself’ for the festival’s duration. This special project, put together with the help of curatorial advisor, the Berlin-based Gallery neugeurriemschneider, has six eminent artists showcasing contributions to the arts that have left an indelible global impact.
Also part of ‘Geographies of Yourself’, Zarina’s artistic practice examines home and identity through structures and geometric abstraction, James Benning explores the land as his protagonist in two fixed-frame tableaux, Tomás Saraceno’s film documents the conceptual foundations and launch of his aerosolar work Aerocene Pacha, and Sheba Chhachhi’s work, whose suspended cluster of laboratory glassware illuminates artistic innovation and its deformation in the name of experimentations.
The Excise Building will also host the special projects ‘Carbon’, by Science Gallery in Collaboration with Ravi Agarwal and ‘Ghosts in Machines’, curated by Damian Christinger.
SAF 2024 celebrates the essence of collaboration and experimentation, further cementing the Serendipity Arts Festival as a space for boundary-pushing creativity. With projects supported by international partners such as the Centre for Australia-India Relations, the Danish Cultural Institute, Japan Foundation, Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Gallery neugerriemschneider, Polish Institute & Jazz Polsku, InKo Centre, French Institute, Outback Theatre for Young People, and the British Council, the 2024 edition continues to foster artistic exchange and dialogue, inspiring audiences to engage with art in profound and transformative ways.
