January Low
My entry point into art, even as a child, was the ‘charged state/space’ shared between artist and viewer in a live moment. When everything shifted online last year, I questioned if this charged live space was lost during this shift. Could this lost element serve as a new entry point for me to reconnect with my art once again?
How could I use the virtual realm to create varied entry points into Odissi to investigate power structures between viewer and performer, and encourage active exchange? How can I create different experiences by removing distinct and familiar elements found in Odissi? What happens if I remove the dancer altogether?
I noticed a sense of freedom that comes with leaving our cameras off and in a way, I wanted to engage with the viewer by offering them some time away from the screen and back into their imagination and body.
My name is January Low. I was born, raised, educated and am currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I specialize in an Eastern classical Indian dance form known as Odissi and have been practicing for over 25 years. As of today my family and I have been in lockdown for five hundred and sixteen days. My current practice observes how Odissi exists in my daily, Southeast Asian female body. Over the course of the pandemic, I have become interested in re-imagining and re-discovering the intangible experience shared between audience and performer.
