House Morphing is a collaborative art project by Samudra Kajal Saikia, manmeet devgun and Jose Abad Lorente. All of us having different backgrounds and exploring different mediumistic expressions. As a commonly sharing point of concern we all are engaged into exploring the meaning(s) of home and house in last years. This project was initiated as a part of the SARAI READER 09: The Exhibition
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Termites: All about Nothing and Meaninglessness
Termites: All about Nothing and Meaninglessness
Now I realize that I really forgot the last object in my everyday
life, that I cared. I touched with love, I cared or caressed. There was a time
when I wept when a refill is over. In the process of writing I used to fall in
love with the pen and the refill, and one day it gets over. One day she gave me
a painted piece of stone, I could not figure out what did it mean. But it is
still there at some corner of my unorganized house. I cannot throw it out. But I’m
not keeping it properly also. I used to be very possessive on things. I used to
cry in void if I missed a single sentence. A single piece of paper from my
notebook.
But now when I lost 500 plus 500 data from my two hard discs, that
were containing hundreds of my poems, I felt almost nothing. I felt nothing
when I lost my laptop that contained all my works. I felt absolutely nothing
when I lost her who knew everything of min, literally speaking my top to
bottom. When she scratched out all the pictures and scribbles she herself once
put on my wall, I felt actually nothing. When I could not find my most favorite jacket
that I bought from Nepal this winter, I felt nothing. When she put all her
stuffs, 4/6 feet divan, ac, heater, bookshelf, study-table, coffee maker to my
house and filled my every empty spaces, I felt nothing. And one day when she
sold out or gave away all the things to somebody else I felt nothing.
I don’t know what I am saying and why I am saying. But it is clear
that it is all about nothingness and meaningless. Rather also about
meaninglessness.
I’ve seen how my mother used to make a house, to make the walls. She was
digging the earth 5-7 feet to find the best soil and used to mix cow dung to
it. Then she smeared the composition upon a screen made up of bamboo sticks. I could
feel the textures as I could smell the smell of mud and cow dung. The feeling
of texture on wall taught me my geography. The smell? Now it became unbearably
painful. Till now I cannot stay inside a concrete house when it rains outside. I
just run out to have the smell of the drenched soil.
I used to water the field where my father used to put his seeds. I liked
smelling the watered soil on his farming land. But unfortunately I couldn't learn to put seeds on soil, or taking
care of it across its life span. The problem remained. I cannot nurture a
poetry till its proper growth. I could not nurture any relationship, any
involvement. Sometimes I put a word on your eyelid but forget to water it. Sometimes
I water at some wronged place where no possibility is there for sprouts.
For last two days I’m not opening my balcony. I fear the chilly plant
that Manmeet gave me on the new year eve might be dead by now. But somehow I’m
fine with that. If the plant is dead, a dead plat mean nothing to me.
Unfortunately, when I remember my mother and father, I also remember i
got very least chance to smear the mud. Rather I spent most of my life blue and
black inks. Inks does not smell good. Still I smeared inks across my childhood.
Let the ink smell bad, but the words I form should smell good. I try to form
bodies out of ink. But I know human bodies are made up of mud. I remember some
story where Parvati makes out a figure out of Mud and puts life into it....
I guess I have the disorder called pica, the disease that most
children and old people usually have: the tendency of eating soil...
I loved soil. But soil also mean shit. In love of soil, I produce
shit.
As i wanted to be a body of soil and water, I turned a body of paper
and ink.
There was two Satiyana trees at my backyard jungle. I guessed there
only, a nightingale used to sing the entire night. I used to listen her at my
teenage nights and I was disrupted by the cracking sounds of the mouse and
rats. I was willing to listen to the distant drums, and I was listening to the
rats running over the wooden roof. One day I discovered half my library is
vanished by the mercy of the rats. Some of my precious books, that u collected
stealing from many important public libraries, and I borrowed from people with
a promise of returning soon but never intended to return.
I came to Santiniketan. Again I built up a library around me with
millions of written letters. One morning I had some hallucinations. I woke up. Opened
my eyes. Wanted to take a yawn or a turn around. But could not. I was so weak. I
wanted to lift my left hand, but my left hand became soil. Uie Poke (a creature
that makes everything into soil), also known as Termites or white ants, made my
left hand soil. I wanted to remove the soil with right hand. I could not, since
my right hand also turned to soil. Then I gradually got my conscience that my
legs too became soil. My lower parts became soil. My upper body became soil. The
head remain. Suddenly some Cartesian bump made me realize that I was just
dreaming. But by co-incidence I discovered that, most of my important books and
paintings and other stuffs were actually turned to soil by the mercy of Uie Pok,
termites, white ants. Santiniketan had a damp weather, uie pok/ termite is very familiar
there. And uie pok/ termite/ white ants can destroy anything, just anything, and can turn anything
to soil.
I think that was the day I realized,
how things are disposable...
Now I really do not recall the day I kissed you first. Can remember
the very first sinister evening I touched you under the Shala tree (Shorea robusta). But feel
nothing remembering it. Memories make no sense to me, as no object mean
anything to me. But without memories, I’m also not there. Not there, I’m simply
not there. It’s all the matter of nothing. Please pardon me for nothing.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
What morphing does?
What morphing by someone else does to you,is make you feel displaced. You are so accustomed to furniture being in the designated space,that moving it,makes you uncomfortable.
You know where the medicines are-I kept them in the cabinet...so you go to the cabinet where you know it is!ITS NOT THERE!you have helped Jose to keep it some place else,so you have walk extra steps to go to it...and while walking you have frown and irritating thoughts-why is it here and not there!
..........................................................................................................................................................................
You organise your house as per your own convenience.You get used to your furniture being in a certain space.You know it will be there,every time you go there.It gives you a sense of stability.
And then morphing happens.You try and adjust to the changes-but it doesn't happen.So wait for the designated time,for the commitment,and as soon as it is over-the first thing you do?MOVE IT BACK!
..........................................................................................................................................................................
A house is constructed with furniture,but the energy is created/felt with the people visited....the fights...the promises...the conversations........the silences...the laughter....friends...helpers...lovers...
You know where the medicines are-I kept them in the cabinet...so you go to the cabinet where you know it is!ITS NOT THERE!you have helped Jose to keep it some place else,so you have walk extra steps to go to it...and while walking you have frown and irritating thoughts-why is it here and not there!
..........................................................................................................................................................................
You organise your house as per your own convenience.You get used to your furniture being in a certain space.You know it will be there,every time you go there.It gives you a sense of stability.
And then morphing happens.You try and adjust to the changes-but it doesn't happen.So wait for the designated time,for the commitment,and as soon as it is over-the first thing you do?MOVE IT BACK!
..........................................................................................................................................................................
A house is constructed with furniture,but the energy is created/felt with the people visited....the fights...the promises...the conversations........the silences...the laughter....friends...helpers...lovers...
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
On 'morphing'
definitions of 'morphing' I found on the net
1)To be transformed
2)to transform or be transformed completely in appearance or character he morphed from nerd into pop icon
3)Short for metamorphosing, morphing refers to an animation technique in which one image is gradually turned into another. Many advanced animation programs support some type of morphing feature.
1)To be transformed
2)to transform or be transformed completely in appearance or character he morphed from nerd into pop icon
3)Short for metamorphosing, morphing refers to an animation technique in which one image is gradually turned into another. Many advanced animation programs support some type of morphing feature.
morph
[mawrf] Show IPA
noun
1.
Linguistics . a sequence of phonemes constituting a minimal unit of grammar or syntax, and, as such, a representation, member, or contextual variant of a morpheme in a specific environment. Compare allomorph ( def 2 ) .
2.
Biology . an individual of one particular form, as a worker ant, in a species that occurs in two or more forms.
verb (used with object)
3.
to transform (an image) by computer.
verb (used without object)
4.
to be transformed: morphing from a tough negotiator to Mr. Friendly.
Morphing means changing form or shape. (verb)
- An example of morphing is when a quiet little not-for-profit is changing into a huge charity.
- An example of morphing is when a caterpillar is changing into a butterfly.
Morphing means the special-effects process in which someone or something change shape or form. (noun)
An example of morphing is when a car becomes a robot which becomes a creature.
Morphing IV(Sreejata's place)
another 'morphing' added
14.1.13
Wonder if Sreejita is writing anything!(in regard to the changes...she did promise) For sometime she had wanted to move that book cabinet from the drawing room. Together we moved it and it was quiet heavy. Meymon must have returned by now....want to hear his reactions!
15.1.13
Notes by Sreejita
It
was a good feeling altogether to get my drawing room bookshelf into the
large bedroom, and the old TV above it removed. But it was not set
properly after that, So the TV which was then kept in the bedroom bed,
was posing a question 'what now'.
The
idea of a friend coming to home and then owning the space was exciting.
And all the more helpful because there has been many changes i have
long desired and just because i was waiting for an outside force to act
for me, i haven't done.
It was like art entering you rooms, with the colour of novelty to the everyday mechanical things...
Monday, January 7, 2013
Morphing III(Jose's place)
Jose's place 5.1.13
Jose's place is full of tables and side tables!British,Chinese.....
we created a study/office for Billy and a guest room with T.V.
(I didn't feel like coming back...and missed Samudra's energy)
As I entered Jose's place,it was already in flux,I couldn't figure out where to start. So i just started shooting the entire place...and it seemed like an endless task. Don't know the area of the house,as every house/home I visit I compare it with the size of my own house(a 100 yard area).
Our school bus travels through Vasant Vihar everyday. Its a pleasure seeing the area...reminds me of my hometown-Chandigarh. Every house with windows in each room,a garden for the children to play in,a garden outside the boundary wall,a garage(a luxury now I feel) to park the car/s,trees outside the house.And I imagine living in one of these...but being inside Jose's place, the spaciousness is beyond me.Taking care of such a place is beyond my capacity-monetarily and physically.
13.1.13
Visited Jose's place yesterday.It looked so neat and tidy!and the morphed rooms looked fabulous !His house is so colourful...orange chinese cabinets,green dining table,a dark pink sofa,pink walls..and the lighting is perfect.
![]() | ||
| with Ritesh |
Jose's place is full of tables and side tables!British,Chinese.....
we created a study/office for Billy and a guest room with T.V.
(I didn't feel like coming back...and missed Samudra's energy)
As I entered Jose's place,it was already in flux,I couldn't figure out where to start. So i just started shooting the entire place...and it seemed like an endless task. Don't know the area of the house,as every house/home I visit I compare it with the size of my own house(a 100 yard area).
Our school bus travels through Vasant Vihar everyday. Its a pleasure seeing the area...reminds me of my hometown-Chandigarh. Every house with windows in each room,a garden for the children to play in,a garden outside the boundary wall,a garage(a luxury now I feel) to park the car/s,trees outside the house.And I imagine living in one of these...but being inside Jose's place, the spaciousness is beyond me.Taking care of such a place is beyond my capacity-monetarily and physically.
13.1.13
Visited Jose's place yesterday.It looked so neat and tidy!and the morphed rooms looked fabulous !His house is so colourful...orange chinese cabinets,green dining table,a dark pink sofa,pink walls..and the lighting is perfect.
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