Interweaving Performance Cultures: NIKHIL CHOPRA’S Studio

As part of his fellowship at the International Research Center « Interweaving Performance Cultures » at the Freie Universität Berlin, live-artist Nikhil Chopra is currently researching and performing in his Berlin studio; a former shop in Wedding.

Nikhil Chopra, Broken White II, 2011, studio view courtesy of Florence Reidenbach, and performance view by Lisa Stertz, courtesy of Nikhil Chopra

For the performance Broken White II, which took place on Friday 19th August, a landscape drawn in charcoal directly onto the walls immerses visitors in a nostalgic universe where they have never been, but somehow can all relate to. The landscape is not only available for people to view, but also to touch. The texture of charcoal gives the possibility of modifying the picture- emphasizing a detail or making it more shadowy, evoking the clarity of the vagueness of moments stuck in our memories. In his storytelling, Chopra uses personal, familial, historical and ‘everyday’ elements. Performances allow him to extract the essence of intimate memories, or of family sagas.

Nikhil Chopra, Broken White II, 2011, performance view by Lisa Stertz, courtesy of Nikhil Chopra

Nikhil Chopra, Broken White II, 2011, studio wall view, courtesy of Florence Reidenbach

The artist recently performed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, as part of the institutions major exhibition Paris-Delhi-Bombay, and is planning a series of performances in Wedding. He will also be inviting other artists to perform in his studio.

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