Asia
Amol K. Patil
Impression
2012
Impression, 2012
The title of the performance video work Impression by Amol k Patil refers to an Indian tradition. During a Hindu or Muslim weddings, all the inhabitants of the chawl (very modest buildings) cover their chests, arms, and feet with henna. For this work the artist covered his chest with temporary henna tattoos before applying Fervicol, a synthetic resin adhesive. After waiting 24 hours for it to dry, the artist was able to peel off this ‘casted clothing’; a thin film upon which the traces of this action were printed: wrinkles, creases, and the traditional drawings are all visible in the cast.
For the artist, the Fervicol symbolizes the fake nature of cosmetics. He glues it to his body, consolidates, andcreates a new surface; a sort of sloughing that he describes as “his body’s dead skin”. The work can also be interpreted as a reference to skin whitening cream ads, which are very present in Indian culture and raise questions related to propaganda and racial bias.
Interested in vernacular theater and performance, Amol K. Patil works within family tradition: his grandfather was an interpreter and a poet (Powada Shahir, a troubadour telling epic stories as he went from one village to another), and his father was an avant-garde playwright, who addressed issues, such as the devastating effects of immigration and its traumas through absurd situations in his plays. Patil, and before him, his family, has considered art as a method of resistance. He criticizes the nihilism of youth and highlights the bad influence of big economic firms aiming at the most disfavored. He explores the desires generated by fashion and media, drawing out the imposture related to the development of malls and of Bollywood films. Using different media, Patil’s work is constructed on a series of overlapping memories, references and protests. Certain works are related to his performances, in which he mixes almost unknown village customs, social theater and social economic comments.