Kolam, a performative game

An interactive narrative driven storytelling

The ritualistic art form Kōlam, serves a purpose that goes beyond mere decoration. My fascination with Kōlam stems from my cherished memories of witnessing my grandmother crafting a Kōlam at the break of dawn, with the ambient music of ‘Venkatesha Suprabhatam’ adding to the experience of this timeless ritual. The intent with this research-led practice is to explore and build a narrative based experience through a performative game that invites the audience to interact with itself and facilitates Kōlam to articulate its vitality within the socio-cultural context. Kōlam, an art form performed daily, primarily by hindu women in south-indian households, is made using rice flour and years of practice. The geometrical one-stroke designs carry pictorial knowledge passed down from ancient times.

“The performative visual art that has a close link to nature and ecology since it is a prayer and a metaphor for coexisting with nature” (Nagarajan, 2018). Kōlam, which means ‘form’, interestingly represents both formlessness and infinite forms. Its fleeting materiality, which is composed using rice flour, symbolises the passage of time. They are drawn as gestures of welcome and embody symmetry of lines built around a grid of dots. In my opinion, it teaches lessons about ephemerality and ownership through its transient character. It exists independently of human perception and possesses its own agency, much like Kantian noumena.

Through the practice, I intend to represent the situatedness, the embodied experience of witnessing its creation (and dissolution), as a result of the human-object ‘intra-action’ (Barad, 2003). In compliance with the brief, both primary and secondary research approaches were employed to explore the multiple facets of Kōlam. Majority of primary research includes insights from the conversations with stakeholders who engage in the art form, to learn about the materiality, practices, beliefs, gender dynamics and cultural implications of Kōlam. Combined with the reference and interpretation of texts and research papers relating to the subject, I gathered a holistic view of its role in society, and how it adapts and evolves to modern contexts while negotiating to retain its essence.

Some tangents that interested me when I read the texts on Kōlam, stems from the topics of performativity (Butler, 1988) and New materialism & agency of objects (Barad, 2003). A pivotal insight I gathered is how Kōlam overlaps with gender roles. According to Jumel (2013), It reflects on the femininity of Tamil women who are ‘judged’ by the Kōlam they make and is regarded as discursive acts that serve as testimony to the varied facets of Indian womanhood, where women derive/negotiate identities. My inquiry led me to understand how women and men confirm themselves according to societal norms and perform their gender by making (or not making) a Kōlam. Despite understanding Kōlam's nuanced cultural placement, It is critical to acknowledge my position as a male presenting a practice traditionally associated with women and to approach it with self-awareness regarding potential power dynamics involved. I side stepped critiquing this aspect associated with Kōlam as to not put myself/the audience on a pedestal that could negate lived experiences of people who deal with the traditional practice.

Reassessing my initial intent, I decided to explore the object itself and highlight its ‘agency’ while using the cultural implication and dynamics as a storytelling device. With this method, the focus shifts away from subjective interpretations or possible distortions of lived experiences, instead it enables the object to narrate its story directly to the audience. The idea of "agency of objects" in the context of new materialism implies that materials and objects have inherent agency, importance, and effects (Ingold, 2003, 2009). When it pertains to Kōlam, this perspective acknowledges that the actors involved—the animals that feed on the rice, wind, rain, humans, environment, situational implications—all have equal agency. It iterates that Kōlam is more than just a visual representation; it's a living body, with materials and embedded with ritualistic, social, and cultural meanings. This viewpoint encourages a reassessment of Kōlam as a dynamic entity that proactively moulds and impacts human interactions, relationships, and surroundings. Compared with conventional anthropocentric ideas that place an emphasis on human agency, this viewpoint highlights the shared connections and reciprocal effects that exist between living and the material world.

Given Kōlam’s transient yet profound ritualistic quality, I sought a storytelling medium capable of depicting both the intricacies of its formation and the inevitable erasure. My exploration involved utilising visual, interactive, and narrative elements of storytelling that could seamlessly communicate the cultural significance while inviting the audience to engage intimately with itself. Ultimately, I designed a performative game aimed at immersing the audience in the essence of Kōlam’s creation-dissolution.

With the first card serving as a visual guide and introduction to the art form, the audience craft a Kōlam utilising the wooden cells provided. Groups consisting of 3 players are required to play the game, and each player gets 25 pieces of wooden cells to craft their very own Kōlam. It demonstrates that numerous Kōlam designs may be generated with the same units, rotational symmetry, permutation, and combination.

After finishing their Kōlam, the performers can pull cards one at a time from the 24 card deck that is in front of them. These cards each symbolise 24 hours and distinct elements/actors contributing to the Kōlam's evolution throughout the day. Each card has a statement and an action, and when they are drawn, the narrative unfolds. These statements embody the personified voice of Kōlam, directly engaging with the audience throughout the experience.

Sparrows gather near, drawn by powdered rice they've found. In their fluttering prance, Well-fed, they dance.

I am a transient canvas, fleeting as time's swift glide, spreading the beauty, fading with the sun's stride.

Kids play freely, their steps unaware, stepping on my pattern they'd tear. No anger or grudge, for Kōlams are meant to be unmade.

Based on the statement and action texts such as '2 hours have passed, remove any 2 cells from the Kōlam', the players have to remove cells and dismantle the design. With a focus on the act of letting go and a critique of the conventional anthropocentric notion of ownership, the concept aims to represent the Kōlam 'unmaking' itself. The narrative delves into the transient nature, cultural ramifications, gender dynamics, and the interactive elements shaping Kōlam. It aims to subtly inform the audience about Kōlam's position within the broader cultural network. Some cards also ask the players to collaborate with their neighbour as according to Mackay (2013), human minds possess an inherent drive to learn collectively through the use of a 'collective intelligence'. This aligns with the collaborative nature of Kōlam as an art form, which is considered as an integral aspect of the social fabric.

Certain cards offer players a choice: using artificial powder instead of traditional rice flour for Kōlam. This highlights the shift from natural materials that served as food for organisms to synthetic materials. Player’s decision on these cards impact on later draws; opting to keep or forgo the artificial powder card allows cell retention and immunity from the sparrows/ants cards wanting to interact with the Kōlam.

Kōlam is often considered a silent/visual mode of expression, which acts as an external indicator of bodily conditions, For example, if there’s a death in the family or neighbourhood. Or if the female member of the family who performs Kōlam is on her menstrual cycle, Kōlam is left untouched. In other words, the absence of a Kōlam at a home's entrance carries several nuanced connotations.

The process involved building a textual script/storyboard consisting of the rules and narrative flow of the game. Through rapid prototyping using paper cut-outs, I tested the game with the audience and received vital feedback on the text used on the card and overall flow. The major feedback I received at that crucial stage was to make the statements short and crisp but try to retain the personified poetic essence. The choice to use CNC-cut birch wood was deliberate, serving both aesthetic and functional purposes. To enhance tactility and mimic the texture of powdered rice, I used white paint blended with wooden shavings.

It is essential for the audience to provide feedback on the game so that it can be improved to better reflect reality, (Eisenack 2012). Reflecting critically on the research, process and resulting practice along with the audience feedback provides insights into potential areas for refinement and acknowledgment of shortcomings. Major feedback received was that the performative game offers an interactive engagement, however it required a clear conclusion, possibly by complete erasure of the Kōlam. Packaging the game into a kit, adding additional layers to the narrative and contextualising the art-form.

It was intriguing to receive diverse feedback as the audience interacted with the game, interpreting it differently each time, and how they instinctively ‘competed’ to keep their Kōlam intact. There's potential to include more collaborative and decision-based cards, encouraging audiences to reflect on their decisions. Curating the space for performance is essential to provide a multi-sensorial experience and deepen its narrative. For a more immersive experience, the audience could be seated on the ground as part of the setup.

I consider this project as an attempt to delve into the tangible aspects of my practice, potentially opening up an avenue to explore culturally rooted objects, its context, significance, evolution, embedded ‘politics’, and interconnectedness with its environment. The performative game attempts to connect traditional customs with contemporary expressions, enabling a more profound comprehension of Kōlam's vitality and discourse around cultural rituals and their influence on identities within the socio-cultural context. It is an attempt to personify Kōlam as a living entity that expresses agency through societal dynamics and connections, transcending its role as a passing art form.

Check out the project on Behance by clicking here.

Bibliography

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