conversations in ten questions 72: Abhishek Tapar

What is the essence of performance in your opinion?

The performance proposes an existential preposition of trying to find closure in trauma memories using artistic interventions. An attempt at a ritual ‘Going back to forget’.

Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How? 

Yes. I believe that a theatrical space has the power to move mountains and touch the viewers in that space. But it also has the power to shift thoughts on a micro level, to charge the experience in the moment with something unfathomable.

When you are working on a piece, what sources inspire you? Do dreams play a role in your works? 

Dreams haven't played any roles in my works and inspirations so far. My works are grounded in long research into a particular subject matter, an issue, working with a certain community of people and their skill sets. As a performance maker who is interested in notions of documentary theatre and social practice, inspiration, ideas and forms emerge from the people I work with and what they want to say or express. A lot of theoretical research also forms the backdrop and frames of my works.

When do you decide to give a title to a work you are working on if it already does not have one? 

Titles mostly emerge from the material and research. It always strives to be functional and aims to capture the essence of the work. For example: ‘My home at the Intersection’ emerged from the central question of the performance i.e. How does a household start to confirm and participate in social political changes?. On the contrary ‘Cow is a Cow is a Cow’ the title came first and the performance followed in trying to redefine the notion of the holy cow and its relationship to Hindu fundamentalism and the violence connected with it.

Are there any artist or person whom you think influenced your art most? And if there is such an artist or person, who?

There have been different artists, writers, thinkers, poets, musicians, and filmsworks who have had a deep impact during my artistic journey so far. So start with, Jaane bhi do yaaron - a film from the 1980's introduced me to theatre, comedy and bombay. Music of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley has been a deep influence. Writing of Salman Rushdie, Jalal Toufic, Amandeep Sandhu, Amitav Ghosh, Urvashi Butalia, Frantz Fanon, homi k bhabha. Artistic works of Walid Raad, Complicite, Flinnworks, Rabih Mroué. Thinkers and philosophers such as J. Krishnamurthi, Walid Shah, Bulleh Shah, Kabir had a strong resonance.

When you consider the current state of the world in every sense, what is the most important and urgent issue for you as an artist?

The most urgent issue at the moment I feel urgency is to denounce the unequal distribution in all aspects of the world we live in i.e. wealth, resources, power. In my works, I attempt to set aside preconceived ideas about identity, historical narratives, religion and politics, the migration debate, and environmental issues. As a theatre/performance maker I seek to engage the audience in a critical dialogue about current social issues in our globalized world. My work tries to propose alternatives, solutions and tries to find a different balance.

How did the idea for My Home at the Intersection come about, how did the creating process develop? 

The idea emerged from a deep desire to rebuild my childhood home, which we had lost during the Punjab insurgency in 1980/1990’s. In a way to reconnect with my family to understand my relationship to home and to punjab. The process was created in dialogue with my family, and extended family, historical research and using personal material.

If you had to translate My Home at the Intersection into a single sentence, what would that sentence be?

A performance for all senses.

What does ‘Fringe’ signify for you? 

Fringe is the place to experiment, a space and a ground to test new forms in order to redefine and establish new aesthetics and relationships with the audiences.

What would you like to say to the Istanbul fringe audience? 

I am very excited to bring this performance to DasDas and to share stories of my childhood.

[The Turkish version of this interview was published in unlimited.]