10 August,2015 07:59 AM IST | | Hassan M Kamal
Explore the mother-child relationship as well as live screening of Vienna Biennale at a two-day event in Mumbai, which will also feature engaging discussions with artists and experts
A postcard as part of Krupa Desai's work on monotonous journeys
Parents tell several stories to their kids - some are meant to impart wisdom, while others instill fear when they get disobedient. Some times it's a story about a ghost under the bed to put them to sleep, and in some cases, as clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta found out during one of her sessions with children, it's a Muslim priest in a nearby mosque.
A postcard as part of Krupa Desai's work on monotonous journeys
"The child over a period developed a strong phobia for the other community and has been undergoing treatment to get over it," says Gupta, who is conducting a special talk, on August 11, exploring how the mother-child relationship, may have a deeper role to play in developing/busting stereotypes.
"Children are born with a clean slate and an understanding of good and bad, a collective wisdom of the universe, often referred to as the gut instinct. They develop new thoughts (sometimes, prejudices) upon their interaction with their parents and later with the world," says Gupta.
A poster titled An Advanced Script in The Artificial Garden by Raktim Parashar
The talk is part of a two-day interactive session that explores the notion of knowledge as collective experience, while questioning the validity and meaning of existing authoritarian and hierarchical structures, in society and the arts. Gupta's session will explore the same based on psychological theories of experts like Carl Jung and Dan Siegel.
Sonali Gupta
The event is organised in association with Creative Time Summit - The Curriculum that will open at Vienna Biennale around the same time, in association with ArtOxygen and Studio-X Mumbai, and will be screening events part of the summit, from Venice along with discussions with local practitioners such as Letizia De Martin of Reality Gives as he explores the social fabric of Dharavi; researcher Krupa Desai on changing a monotonous journey such as a rickshaw ride, visual artist Madhu Desai on collaboration with indigenous knowledge systems, artist Raktim Parashar on witch hunting in Assam along with Professor Anjali Monteiro and KP Jayasankar on student projects at Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
