Elisa Storelli and Rohini Devasher begin their residency at ICTS
The selected artists for the Connect India residency have started their artistic research at the International Centre for Theoretical Studies in Bengaluru
Following an open call for applications, a jury of cultural and scientific experts awarded Swiss artist Elisa Storelli and Indian artist Rohini Devasher the dual residency as part of Connect, the collaboration framework between Arts at CERN and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia that fosters dialogue between artistic and scientific communities worldwide.
The International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) in Bengaluru is a unique initiative in Indian science with a threefold mandate: to create an in-house research programme of international quality in the theoretical sciences, to link the Indian scientific community with the international community through its programmes to solve some of nature's outstanding problems, and to engage with civil society in spreading awareness of exciting scientific developments and fostering scientific temper.
While at ICTS, Devasher and Storelli will engage with the scientific community in India to develop a research-based artistic project. Artist and amateur astronomer Rohini Devasher aims to develop her project, In a Mirror, Darkly, as a close reading of the methods and interactions of observation in fundamental physics through the lens of wonder and 'the strange'. The title references both the mirroring of matter and antimatter at CERN, as well as the optics used to measure gravitational waves - a new horizon in observational astronomy and a key area of research at ICTS. Through Connect India, Devasher looks forward to walking through this dark and wonderful mirror world where observation itself may be redefined.
Elisa Storelli’s practice focuses on the artistic examination of time, which she calls 'chronomorphology'. Her research delves into the ways time has been measured, calculated and experienced across cultures and centuries. In her Connect India project, A para-chronology of atoms and stars, Storelli intends to develop a performative lecture in dialogue with researchers at CERN and ICTS. Incorporating scientific discoveries, historical events and tales from non-Western traditions, she aims to create a scientific narrative in the form of a multimedia poem that invites the audience to consider the notions of time and chronology that shape our understanding of the world.
Following their four-week residency at ICTS, Devasher and Storelli will spend three weeks at CERN in Geneva in August. The artists will immerse themselves in the Laboratory community to conduct their artistic research in connection with the world of fundamental physics.
Main image: Rohini Devasher (left); Elisa Storelli (right). Photos by Harsh Khatwani. Courtesy ICTS