A handful of illustrious Indians have lent their creative touch to give the London Olympics some Indian touches.
When
the 2012 Olympics unveils July 27, a reality that will transcend the
historic fortnight is a creation of art with an Indian touch. Iconic
sculptor Anish Kapoor, the India-born winner of the Turner Prize, has
given Britain its Olympic mascot - the ArcelorMittal Orbit - the
country's biggest public art installation.
The giant Orbit is a
115-metre high steel observation tower at Olympic Park in Stratford in
London that is likely to help in the post-Olympic regeneration of the
area. Kapoor designed the Orbit with Cecil Balmond with steel donated by
India-born steel tycoon Laskhmi Mittal, who remains the richest man in
Britain with an estimated fortune of 112.7 billion pounds as in April
2012, according to British estimates.
Recalling the project,
Mittal says he "never expected" it would turn out this big. He said it
was not just the supply of thousands of tonnes of steel but in reality
ArcelorMittal "has given much more than steel".
Artist Kapoor,
who sculpts futuristic forms in steel and glass, said in an interview to
The Guardian that the making of the Orbit was a "series of discrete
events tied together". Kapoor said he did not want an icon, "but a
moving narrative".
"You start under this great domed canopy
that sits above you, almost ominous darkness sucking you in. Then you
come slowly to light," he said.
Then, there are two other Indian touches to the Games.
Shobhana
Jeyasingh, a Chennai-born contemporary dancer who works out of Britain,
was approached by the committee of the Cultural Olympiad some time ago
to present her new choreography, "Too Mortal" in the Old Churches of
London during the London Olympics 2012 Festival.
After several
performances at the St Mary Church June 28-30, Jeyasingh, a trained
Bharatanatyam dancer, will now stage her act at St Swithun's Church July
19-21.
"Too Mortal", an atmospheric new work with Indian
classical elements, was conceived for churches in London, Stockholm and
Venice, Jeyasingh said.
Inspired by their dramatic architecture,
the choreography contrasts and complements the rhythms and spaces of
these historic buildings. Jeyasingh said she has tried to explore the
"notions of the church as a sanctuary".
"Too Mortal" is presented in Britain by Dance Umbrella.
Nearer
home in the capital, noted graphic novel writer and artist Sarnath
Banerjee, the author of the best-selling "The Barn Owl's Wondrous
Capers", has taken his graphic textual art to Olympic billboards in
London with a message: "Games Don't Just Deal With Winning".
The
Olympic public art project commissioned by Frieze East is made of
several billboards, graphic essays and posters. Banerjee says the
project is against the sensibility of the Olympic Games which is about
winning. "It is a campaign about people who fail".
Banerjee said
he has created characters like a boxer who is thinking of trying to duck
a punch, a pole vaulter who realises that he chose the wrong discipline
daunted by the audacity of the jump, a judoka who takes long-distance
tips about his sport and a high jumper who lives, reads and eats light.
Banerjee is one of the three artists chosen by Frieze East for the Olympic Public Art Project.
