Sonnet of Samsara is an immersive, site-specific promenade performance that delves into the concept of Samsara, allegorically exploring the compulsions of worldly pursuits, karmic cycles of existence, wandering and transmigration. It dynamically adapts to the unique characteristics and histories of landscapes or sites, intertwining with the experiences, memories, myths, and aspirations of the communities that inhabit them.
Against the backdrop of urgent environmental crises, climate emergencies and the call for sustainable living, this performance intertwines local specificities with global themes. It employs rituals, stylised movements, and everyday gestures set to a captivating musical score and live percussion.
The narrative style of Sonnet of Samsara explores how myths preserve collective memories and reveal erasures. Drawing from the lives of the participants as well as the stories and hidden histories of the lands, the motifs and designs of the hand-painted pennants and flags are taken on an artistic procession accompanied by live percussion ensemble through the site, occasionally transforming into short performances. The procession will culminate in a ritualised finale performance at a designated location on site transforming it into an arena incorporating movement idioms of Kalarippayattu and other martial arts, contemporary dance as well as animated physical gestures.
(The performance starts at the Art Park and moves along the Promenade connecting the park and Kala Academy as a procession. The audience and the artists merge, and become part of the procession culminating at the Quad at Kala Academy.)
CREDITS:
Collaborator:
Ali Pretty
