BOMBED: A Moonlight Sonata – Exhibition by Saranjit Birdi. Herbert Gallery & Museum Coventry England 18 June to 3 July 2011. The show explores the Coventry Blitz (code named ‘Moonlight Sonata’ by the Germans), code breaking and puzzles of war. It is a dynamic and thought provoking synthesis of sound, paint and improvised dance which reflects both past and present experiences of war in the light of current global politics.

Saranjit Birdi in his own words

I was born in village Shankar near Jalandhar Punjab in 1960 and came to Britain with my parents in 1965.

My ‘adventure’ began at the age of thirteen, when I read an article on Kandinsky and the word ‘synthesis’. The word held a fascination for me and sounded scientific as well as artistic. I fell in love with geometry, woodwork and metalwork. Early inspiration also came from elder siblings of my primary school friends. These were exceptional artists and illustrators whose work had a tremendous influence on me every time I visited their houses. I began to enjoy drawing, which, I discovered, was also a very good way of making friends.

In 1979 I set a vocational goal to explore the arts of Architecture, Poetry, Music, Dance, and Drawing to discover the central ‘thread’ of creativity that links them. I embarked on an architectural qualification from Bristol University where I found a holistic view of art and design was encouraged and this formed a springboard for my instincts. Also, I elected to explore building types for music and performance arts. I joined the Bristol University Dance Society attending jazz, tap, ballet and Modern dance – and in the evenings and weekends dancing in Bristol nightclubs! I began performing and teaching my own class without formal dance qualifications.

I qualified as an Architect in 1984 and worked in central London practices for two years. However, I was mostly engaged in designing social housing and consequently looked elsewhere for a more intensive creative outlet. I joined a jazz-Latin fusion band, based in Berkshire, as dancer and percussionist and took Contemporary and Jazz dance classes at London Contemporary Dance (The Place) and Urdang Dance Academy in Covent Garden.

 

Saranjit Birdi

photograph by Devon Edwards

I returned to settle in Birmingham in 1986 finding jobs in Community and Commercial Architecture practices. I also gained a formal dance qualification ‘Dance Leaders in the Community’ and taught a weekly Jazz-Funk dance class at the Birmingham Dance Centre (now the DanceXchange). In 1994 I qualified as a professional fitness. The course gave one an in-depth knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. I became aware of how the body can be sculpted, through exercise, and moulded like clay.

In 1995 I stepped into the arena of multimedia technology and gained experience in 2D imaging, video, animation and computer aided drafting. This was used to focus and elevate my experiences into the conceptual realm of art, in 1996, through an MA in Interior Design with Information Technology at the University of Central England, Birmingham. The MA research paper, “Synthesis as a Conceptual Basis for Design”, received a Distinction and involved exploring the connections between dance, music and architectural form using digital imaging, video and computer animation as the tools. The research was inspired by and utilised the teachings of Vasily Kandinsky and artists/theorists of the Modern movement. I wanted to go beyond theory and in to a physical and psychological experience of this notion of synthesis.

It was at this point, in 1997 I made a commitment to traditional skills of drawing and painting, working in parallel with use of multimedia.

1n 1999 I embarked on the ‘Gallery in the Trees’ Public Artist training course through Birmingham City Council and established an arts practice in 2000 after a local MP had shown interest in a sculpture proposal ‘Midland Beat’. Also that year, I gained my first public art commission, the ‘Highley Sculpture Trail’, which won the Shropshire Pride Award 2002.

In 2002 I had the good fortune to be invited to work with RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) actor Patrice Naiambana and produce animations for the backdrop of his one-man, multimedia theatre production ‘The Tao of Exile’. This was a collaborative work with technical support from Coventry based Talking Birds and was commissioned by The COLLIDE Commissioning Programme for Black Artists.

Under the same commissioning programme as above, in 2003, I produced ‘SURGE’. This was my first attempt at a real synthesis of forms and involved expressing the energies of live Jazz music and dance fused with a screen projected backdrop of architectural forms of contemporary buildings in Birmingham. The performance was held in the ‘Living Room’, a popular bar in Birmingham City Centre, and featured Jazz-Latin band ‘Effusion’ with whom I have been playing since 1984 and Birmingham based Jazz dancers.

My second, dedicated application of synthesis was a short dance on digital video titled ‘Follow’ which fused percussion, poetry, architecture and dance.

My first solo Exhibition ‘Folow’ (supported by the Arts Council of England, West Midlands) was held at the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham in May 2004 which brought together the various strands into a real world setting, juxtaposing drawings, dance, film, poetry and sculpture into one space. Actors, dancers, opera singers and musicians were encouraged to enter the space and interact with the works through spontaneous improvisation.

I have an expanding portfolio of public art commissions, drawings, paintings and digital work including dance on film and live performance. My collaborations with other artists have included gallery installations, light and buildings, theatre and film production.

On ‘Punjabiness’ in his work

I think the visual art works to date are outside of particular Punjabi references except for one proposed work for New Cross Hospital Wolverhampton, which alluded to Sikhism but was not realised. I see myself as a British Asian of Indian/Punjabi origin with an intercultural existence and it probably is not that clear cut where the transitions lie between the cultural realms, no doubt they are there.

I have not explored many Punjabi themes except for the above and also a proposed screenplay that is still in development, regarding Sikh war veterans and allegiances.

http://www.saranjitbirdi.com