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Journalism of Courage
A family of three looks at the facade erected in the centre of the National Gallery of Modern Art. Made to replicate a building in Shivaji Park, the facade acts as a screen for a video.
It shows the interior of a house, seen through a window. In the background, you can hear voices of children arguing over who gets to bat next when suddenly amid yells of “six, six”, the window of the house shatters.
An angry voice erupts from the house, threatening the ball will not be returned this time. The father of the family laughs at the memory.
“As kids, we also broke windows playing in gallis. We played like this, just like Sachin.” he tells his son.
The show titled “Deconstructing Innings” at NGMA, which opened on December 17, is seeing a steady footfall of students, families and ardent Tendulkar fans.
Through paintings, installations, video work and sculptures, 10 contemporary artists have traced Tendulkar’s journey through the years.
From galli cricket, audiences’ reaction in different stadiums of the world, and early morning training sessions with coach Ramakanth Achrekar to his last speech at Wankhede stadium — the show is not only a tribute to Tendulkar, but also to the game.
“Each artist spent a lot of time with Sachin, understanding the different aspects of his life,” says Veerangana Solanki, who has co-curated the show with Kiran Desai, founder of TenArt, the organisers of the exhibition.
The show is an attempt to cater to fans as well as lovers of the arts, says Desai. “We did not just want a collage of his face with photographs.
We wanted the artists to push the boundaries with their work. The people who walk in are cricket fans, and we carefully wish to expose them to the world of contemporary art.”
Tendulkar admitted that he is no connoisseur of art but thoroughly enjoyed interactions with the artists. “There’s little doubt that I feel humbled.
If I have been able to encourage some of these best creative minds in their pursuit of excellence, it is something that I will always cherish,” he said.
We speak to five artists about their work for the show. The exhibition in association with TenArt is open at the NGMA is on till February 15.
Hema Upadhyay
Completion of Oneself Through the Other; collage of photos in motion
“I worked on French philosopher, Jacques Lacan’s idea of the “Gaze” turning a person into an object. The fans who fill the stadiums at each of his matches have made Sachin who he is, an icon.
So the audience who worship him, became my theme. I shot a video of myself in twelve moods: happiness, hope, helplessness, anxiety and so on; the rush of emotions that one feels in a stadium.
The video is then printed as a moving image, so if you move across the panel, you see the number of expressions at once.”
Shreyas Karle
Notes from a Terrace; sketches on paper
“Sachin was one of the many boys in the country who dreamt of playing on big grounds with open spaces, but managed with balconies and terraces instead.
So to play in these spaces, a new language of the game was introduced. Terms like ek tappa, and rules, such as who would fetch the ball in case it went over the building, were formed.
Cricket went from being a sport of the elite to that of children playing in unusual spaces. So my work is like a dictionary of these lost words.
Through my sketches I draw these new terminologies through technical looking sketches that we see international cricket adopt today.”
Trilochand Anand
Treasure Box; installation and video
“Sachin’s coach, Ramakanth Achrekar would place a coin on the stumps and Sachin’s challenge was to stay undefeated till the end of the day. If he did, he would get to take the coin home.
Sachin has 13 such coins, that he says are more precious to him than any award or accolade he received later in life. Through the work I wanted to talk about the person Sachin is indebted to — his coach.
I have used his original bat, carved it into a treasure box with 13 one rupee coins.
Though I could not use the coins that he has, I hunted down the coins of similar dates. A video playing alongside, also shows this training superimposed with images of Mumbai.”
Sunil Gawde
Pause; installation and video
“Bombay has been a big part of Sachin’s life, where he has spent hours playing in gallis. So I thought of creating a wall, belonging to a middle-class house in Dadar, Matunga or Wadala and what happens when a batsman breaks a window.
The video plays on loop with neighbours — Maharashtrians, Parsis, and Gujaratis — scolding children about a broken window.
Apart from dedicating the work to Sachin who confessed to have broken many windows, the work talks of the middle-class pressure of living in an already expensive city, where one has to worry about fixing the occasional broken window.”
Riyas Komu
Legacy Beyond Centuries; sculpture and audio
“A whole generation has grown up watching Sachin’s game. My work is a tribute to this generation who has been inspired by his greatness.
There are 100 sculptures of his hands, placed with plaques of his 100 centuries. Beginning from his first century in 1990 to his last in 2012, visitors can walk by the dome of the gallery listening to his speech that he gave at his final match in Wankhede.
As his voice resounds in the dome, just like it did in the stadium, we hear him thank each contributor in his life — his family, his coaches, and the senior players. We are reminded of the human being he is, down-to-earth and humble.”
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