Photos by: Scott Little
ਮੈਂ ਇੱਥੇ ਹਾਂ (i am here)
2017
Performance using paper, ink, and water
This was a durational performance carried out throughout the duration of FUSE: A Conjuring at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work was part of a series of performances curated by cheyanne turions titles Small Practices of Deep Looking featuring artists Simranpreet Anand, Stacey Ho, Tsēma Igharas, and Stephen Murray. The performance was in relation to a work in the exhibition Portrait of the Artist titled A Self-Portrait drawn by Feodor Iwanowitsch Kalmück, one of the only coloured artists in the exhibition who was a slave captured by the forces of Catherine the Great and marketed for his exotic origins. In the performance ink was used to write out 'i am not here' and then written overtop of with water in Punjabi text that read ' ਮੈਂ ਇੱਥੇ ਹਾਂ '. The work was then ripped off of a roll of paper and dragged into the gallery space and place in front of Kalmück's work. This performance was then repeated however the text was rewritten as 'i am here' and placed overtop of the remnants of the first part of the performance.