Aakriti Sawhney

Staying Alive

2012 · Hindustan Times · Nov 2012

Canvas, sculptures, stills… 'sleeping art' is passé. It jumped out of the freeze-frame mode six years ago, when artist Chintan Upadhaya posed nude in Sarjan Art Gallery in Gujarat, next to his artwork of burnt drawing sheets. His exhibit depicted the plight of riot victims in Gujarat. Soon after his display, artists all over India embraced this concept to challenge conformity. "Performance art is still a very new concept. It allows an artist to take art to a new level.