By Eleanor Wilson
Members of the local Indian community are being invited to take part in an upcoming art exhibition commissioned for Bunjil Place Gallery.
Multidisciplinary artist David Sequeira is inviting males of Indian descent from the South-East to model in his runway show ‘Untitled India’, which showcases a collection of 56 traditional kurtas (long shirts worn by men in India) designed to tell the “personal history of India.”
“So many times people’s understanding of India is about cricket or yoga or Bollywood, and I wanted to represent something about my Indian identity that was beyond that,” Mr Sequeira said.
“I want people to think about history and India beyond those sorts of tourist or TV experiences, and I invite the [Indian] community to have ownership over that as well.”
Designed by Mr Sequeira, the kurtas stand out in a mix of bright colours and printed images, striving to address the notion of ‘embodied history’.
He is looking for size small to medium, adult male volunteers to model the kurtas in a spectacular runway performance at the opening of his major solo exhibition ‘All the things I should have said that I never said’, which is being held at Bunjil Place Gallery from Saturday 7 May to Sunday 21 August.
No modelling experience is necessary and all participants will receive a gift voucher for their time.
The exhibition itself will highlight Mr Sequeira’s artistic skill set of painting, installation, fashion and performance, which comes together to explore the themes of representation and identity.
“I’m really intrigued by the relationship between tradition and modernity, and in many ways that is what India is all about. It is ancient culture mixed with uber modernity,” he said.
“We want people to complete the vision Bunjil Place and I have created, which is a really moving intersection of culture, music, fashion and art.”
If you would like to get involved in the project, visit bit.ly/37fJEQy
