Many people see art as a distant, complex phenomenon. Artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts congregate within the white walls of an art gallery and decide the value of masterpieces. Does art really touch the lives of common people? How can they experience art? How can art be taken to them, thereby transforming the way people experience and enjoy art?
These are the questions which prompted artist Laila Vaziralli to create a unique art exhibition. Touch Me Not, a watercolour exhibition by the talented artist will be held, not in a gallery, but in a garden, at Mr Farmer Garden Centre, Guirim. There are many reasons for taking the exhibition out of an art gallery and into the garden, says Vaziralli. “Art gallery is a rather dull and boring place. Art has to be taken out of the gallery and to the people.”
“The exhibition is named Touch Me Not as it underlines the need for balance between man and nature. That is why it is set in a garden, so that experiencing art while surrounded by plants will be an exciting experience for people,” explains Vaziralli who studied art and photography at the University of Arts in London, and has been working with emerging artists across India for over a decade. Notable projects under the artist’s belt include installations at Sunburn among other works.
Vaziralli has also worked on a number of public art installations, and feel that public art is a rapidly emerging field in Goa. “Now we have big brands funding public art projects. In India, people tend to litter in public places, but art installations will beautify these spaces and thus prevent people from littering. Public art can be helpful in this way,” says Vaziralli. The artist herself likes various street projects by Hanif Qureshi, and the work of Barbara Shilo.
That said, vandalism of public art is a serious issue in India, but the awareness an appreciation for art will steadily rise with time, Vaziralli feels. “Well, if you are going to put your art in the public space, you must be prepared for it to be tempered with to some degree. But public art serves an important purpose and with time, the awareness about it will certainly come,” the artist says.
Vaziralli has previously worked in cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai, and has now shifted to Goa. “I shifted here because I was tired of the city life, and wanted to live in a quiet place. I feel that nature and jungle is my natural environment,” says the artist. She has been working for the past one year to create the Touch Me Not exhibition, but not all the time has gone into paintings. “Different artists have different ways of working. For me,working with water colour does not take much time, and I create my paintings pretty quickly,” she says.
