HALLUCINATIONS OF AN ARTIFACT

Goethe-Institut / Max Muellere Bhavan Chennai and Basement 21 jointly present 
Hallucinations of an Artifact

How does an ancient artifact think, move and respond to our current times?
Hallucinations of an Artifact brings the Dancing Girl figurine from the Indus Valley civilization (c. 2300-1750 BCE) to life through dance and artificial intelligence. It pushes back at the multiple assertions that have been made on behalf of the figurine over the years. Can the Dancing Girl live, perspire, breathe, evolve and transform through dancing bodies?

The Dancing Girl, often held up as the earliest evidence of dance in ‘Indian’ culture, is a contentious figure. In 2016, Pakistan asked India to return the artifact, given that it was originally excavated from Mohenjo-daro, which is now part of Pakistan. Soon after, a research paper by the Indian Council of Historical Research claimed that the figurine was in fact a representation of the Hindu goddess Parvati. More recently, the Dancing Girl has appeared as propaganda: as a figurine labelled ‘Mother’ in several languages at an art exhibition, and as a pink-skinned mascot, bundled up in newfound clothing, at the International Museum Expo.

The art historian Naman Ahuja speculates that the Dancing Girl may have been a warrior, not dancer, reminding us that all historical artifacts are shaped by how we view them, and co-opted into specific frames of reference. Hallucinations of an Artifact performatively disrupts the linear articulations and narratives framing the Dancing Girl, bringing this irreverently playful and notoriously unclassifiable artifact to life.

• CAST + CREDITS PERFORMERS & COLLABORATORS Akanksha Kumari, Manju Sharma and Mandeep Raikhy
• CHOREOGRAPHY Mandeep Raikhy
• VISUAL ARTISTS AND ENVIRONMENT Jonathan O’Hear
• ADDITIONAL LIVE LIGHTING DESIGN Pranshu Shrimali
• MUSIC COMPOSER Anirban Ghosh (Baan G), Opening Track by Marcel Zaes
• COSTUME DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Sidharth Sarcar & Rajakumar
• VIDEOGRAPHY Venus Maku Thockchom 
• IMAGES Sidharth Sarcar & Venus Maku Thockchom
• CREATIVE CONTRIBUTORS Aseng Borang, Jasmine Yadav, Meghna Bhardwaj, Parinay Mehra and Ranjana Dave
• EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Sandbox Collective
• SUPPORTERS Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Voices from the South Programme of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society (curated by the Pickle Factory Dance Foundation) and Dance Nucleus Singapore.
• DEVELOPED IN RESIDENCY AT Black Box Okhla, Khuli Khirkee and The Company Theatre Workspace

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER Mandeep Raikhy is a Delhi-based dance practitioner. He completed a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre at Laban in 2002 and then toured with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, London between 2005 and 2009. Since 2010, Mandeep has created several dance works, notably Inhabited Geometry (2010), a male ant has straight antennae (2013) and Queen-size (2016) and Anatomy of Belief (2019). These works have travelled across the country and internationally over the years. Besides creating and touring several dance works since 2008, Mandeep has worked to develop a supportive environment for contemporary dance in India through several initiatives such as Gati Dance Forum, Khuli Khirkee and the MA Performance Practice (Dance) at Ambedkar University, Delhi.
www.mandeepraikhy.wordpress.com