Goemkarponn desk
Panaji: The Museum of Goa (MOG) in Pilerne is showcasing the ancient art of ceramics presented in a contemporary avatar by six Goa-based women ceramicists at the ‘Unearthed’ exhibition, open for public viewing until March 31.
‘Unearthed’ will lead visitors on a 16-day immersive journey into the world of ceramics that also contains a series of events such as hands-on workshops, performances, a panel discussion with the participating artists and a pop-up on the final day that introduces ceramics to a wide audience.
In the exhibition, which is supported by Mumbai-based Bhoomi Pottery, artists Ragini Deshpande, Avani Tanya, Aditi Kashyap, Khushboo Madnani, Nimmy Joshi and Tanushree Singh pay ode to the versatility and durability of ceramics, utilising the organicity of its source material, clay, to express the vast expanse of the human experience.
The preview night of the exhibition featured a solo performance ‘Khoj’ by experimental dancer Akanksha Dev, who captivated the audience by utilising clay and pottery to express the power of clay as a medium of storytelling through movement.
“The exhibition showcases the power of ceramics as a medium for personal expression and collective storytelling. As an art form, ceramics is easily relatable, as several people have pottery inherited or bought for utilitarian purposes in their homes, and ‘Unearthed’ is an extension of this into the artistic realm,” said Sharada Kerkar.
Kerkar, who is also operational head at MOG and co-founder of the Children’s Arts Studio (CAS) located at MOG, stated that “the ceramics exposition ‘Unearthed’ is also the first all-women exhibition at MOG, and is, therefore, a landmark showcase of talent at the Museum.”
Ragini Deshpande, who conceptualised the exhibition to offer visitors an insight into the craft of ceramics, which has been a method of human expression since 29,000 BCE, is ecstatic at the response to the artworks.
“Goa is a special place where several people, especially women, have turned to the arts. The atmosphere here is conducive to working with the arts, with organisations like MOG present to give a platform to women to showcase their art,” said Deshpande.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to showcase my ceramics. ‘Unearthed’ is an extremely refreshing experience, not only because it is my first exhibition, but also because it is extremely inspiring to be a part of this group of women, each with our own sets of ideas and works,” said Tanushree Singh, whose work addresses the similarities between clay and human memory.
To offer visitors an opportunity to create ceramic artworks from scratch, creative workshops will be conducted for the duration of the exhibition at CAS.
Khushboo Madnani, founder of Studio Klay, will conduct the ‘Obvara Firing Workshop’ and Clayton D’Souza of the Ucassaim-based Mud Skippers Studio will conduct a workshop titled ‘Raku Workshop’ on March 23 and 30, respectively, which gives participants a chance to understand clay as a material and use it to bring out their stories and also to use different mixtures to glaze their works.
Aditi Kashyap and Shailee Mehta of Socorro-based Baadalghar will conduct a beginner’s workshop on March 24, which will introduce participants to basic pottery techniques and encourage them to critically reflect on their works.
Kerkar also stated that over 500 students from schools across Goa have been invited to participate in these workshops and go on a guided walkthrough of the exhibition to introduce them to the artistic medium of clay and ceramics.
The 16-day exhibition will draw to a close with the ‘Clay Bazaar’, which will give several artists across Goa a chance to display their clay and ceramic products to a wider audience.
