Prakriti Foundation and The Park presented "Cats' Eyes on a Highway", Poems in Light and Dark by Priyamvada N. Purushotham and Tishani Doshi Venue: Pasha, The Park, Chennai
The Concept behind Cats' Eyes
In the beginning, it was simply about reading original poetry out aloud, in front of an audience. But working with someone always changes the parameters. It invites discussion, interpretation, travel. We wanted to explore the light and dark in each other's voices and in poetry itself, which we saw as a point of illumination; a sharp, clear source of light, much like the cats' eyes that light up the highways at night.
Priyamvada left a career in copywriting with O&M to pursue poetry. She had an exhibition of her work at the British Council in 1997, where paintings were made for each poem and put on display. She likes to experiment with different mediums of art, and has been involved in dance and theatre. Tishani fled her job at Harpers & Queen magazine so she could write full-time. She won an Eric Gregory Award for her poetry in 2001, and has published poems in various journals in the UK. She works with choreographer Chandralekha, and has dabbled in theatre and documentary-making.
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October 28,
2003 at 7pm
We toyed around with different art forms to use in conjunction with our poems, and finally decided on black and white photography. We used the body as a starting point, the body as a vehicle for journeying: internal, external, literal, and metaphysical. With the help of Viraj Singh, who took our photographs, we played with form and abstraction, mirror and shadow, movement and stillness. We created a visual landscape of light and dark against which our poems could be read and understood. In the process, we have found answers in each other's poems for the questions we ask. It has been an illuminating ride.
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