Sejal Surendra Sood came to the arts via what many might consider an unlikely route: the mathematics programme at the renowned Massachusetts Institute for Technology. As incongruous as it might seem, she found that both maths and the arts offered the chance to communicate ideas about life. She pursued art and dance in New York before making her way east to Mumbai and now Bangkok to explore different forms of dance, which inspire both her visual and performance art.
DANCE AS ART: Dance performance by Sejal Sood. Right, performance with Josie Lay.
At the opening of her "Dance Is" art exhibition at the Indian Cultural Centre on July 13 she performed with fellow dancers Josie Lay and Karma Sirikogar, herself also a local artist. The evening was a small festival of the arts, with music ranging from classical Indian to Adele's Set Fire to the Rain, and dance forms encompassing a range styles, both structured and free-form or improvised. Dance segments were bookended by poetry and music, with pauses that allowed guests to peruse the various artworks. These are painted in oils and acrylics _ abstract representations of form and movement or stylised kaleidoscopes of symmetry and colour, alternately interpreting traditional icons such as Nataraj, the lord of dance, or exploring minimalist approximations of dance motions. One piece features seven years of dance experiences in its designs.
Sood, who will hold exhibitions in India and the US next month and return to Bangkok in September for another exhibition, spoke to Brunch about her art and the evening's dance performances.
Have you performed with Josie Lay and Karma Sirikogar before? How did you prepare for the show?
At my last exhibition at Warp 54, I realised that the question most people were asking was, 'Do you teach dance? I want to get back into dancing.' This made me realise there is a scarcity of dance that is freeing, energising and different from dance hobby classes or exercise routines. Once I was preparing for the next exhibition, I thought why not work with people who love and want to dance to find their own voice as dancers, instead of 'teaching' them. A lot of our preparations included talking about dance and what it means to each of us and exploring these concepts by 'jamming' to different songs.
Your art is inspired by dance _ is the reverse also true? And does your maths degree help your approach to the arts?
When I first started off as an artist it was because I wasn't dancing and I was drawing what I imagined dance to be. I was living in New York at the time and I had one full-time job and three part-time jobs, with no time left to devote to dance. So I started drawing it. Visualisation has been key for me whether for dance, mathematics or art. Mathematics taught me all I know about imagination and diligence, two things I find imperative for an artist. The approach to mathematics and art is very similar. As a dancer you create in a blank space, an artist a blank canvas and a mathematician a blank page. All the while each is trying to communicate a concept or idea about life in the most elegant and beautiful way possible.
At the exhibition opening there was art, dance, music, even poetry. Is there a fluid connection among the disciplines?
For me, dance is art and art is dance. I cannot paint if I don't dance and if I don't paint then I feel like my dance is incomplete. As for the poetry, I find it is comparable to the frame of a canvas. In order to paint on canvas you must stretch it on a frame, likewise in order to communicate one's art, poetry gives viewers a framework of the artist's intention. Also, with so many cultures in a city like Bangkok, it is important to translate the language of the lyrics as well.
Apart from classical Indian, what dance forms influence your movements?
I have trained in the classical Indian dance forms of Bharata Natyam and Mohini Attam, which taught me about my body and movement and the traditions of Indian classical dance.
But in terms of the approach and philosophy I find myself to be tuned to folk dance forms, that erase the lines of good and bad, right and wrong, and diffuse any religious bias. In other words, universal forms of movement.
Is your visual art influenced by any movement or artists in particular?
Although I enjoy the works of many artists, I can't say that I am influenced in my art by anyone. Everything I paint comes from my relationship with dance. My inspiration comes from seeing and experiencing dance.
You mentioned artistic freedom, and that without restrictions we wouldn't appreciate freedom. Could you elaborate on that a little?
Restrictions make you question and challenge what you believe to be true. They force you to be completely sure about your decisions and build a conviction about who you are and what you express as an artist. I studied classical dance and gave it my full attention, but as a result felt suppressed and had a build-up of creative energy that needed a release. Though I learned a lot about my body and movement in that time, the absence of imagination and creation made me realise how important that was for me as an artist. It is through experiencing restrictions of traditions that I realised where my freedom as an artist comes from.
