JOIN USEnter the gallery of Japan Foundation and you will find a pillar in the middle of the gallery with tangles of wiry, black earphones.
One of the walls has black benches sketched on it, while another has projections of a busy market place, with people walking around, engrossed in their phones and other gadgets, playing video games.
In the exhibition titled ‘Frozen Words’, Sreejata Roy, a Delhi-based artist is exhibiting her experiences from her residence program in Tokyo and her focus is on the other aspects of modern gadgets wherein they isolate people from their immediate surroundings and social world.
“I have tried to recreate the Akihabara area in Tokyo, which is also called as the Electric city, famous for electronics, video games and latest technology. The residency allowed me to explore the idea of public space and art. I conducted workshops with people, spent time walking around and simultaneously deciding on how I would recreate this area back home,” said Sreejata.
“The area was vibrant but the only thing that was missing was communication. There was no space for any dialogue. Nobody talks, they are in their own world. People would be sitting on benches, playing on their tabs or distributing pamphlets on more electronics,” she added. The exhibition describes the area – how it is crowded yet so lonely.
Sreejata has worked on community projects before. The 36-year old artist has also participated in group art shows and workshops in the UK, where she was studying media and art. This is her first solo show in India. Presently she is working with ‘Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education’ through variety of forms of art practices connected to public spaces in the low income colonies in New Delhi.
Frozen Words is on display at the Japan Foundation, Lajpat Nagar, till July 16.