Artist Amshu Chukki documents what’s left unintentionally while shooting a film with his ongoing exhibition
Artist Amshu Chukki documents what’s left unintentionally while shooting a film with his ongoing exhibition
There is magic in movies and there is a certain fascination with what happens behind the scenes. With his exhibition titled ‘Different Danny and Other Stories’, Bengaluru-based artist Amshu Chukki explores how to go unnoticed in creating those scenes.
“Whenever we talk about cinema, we discuss the story, the subject and the film itself. With this exhibition, I try to show the cinematic extravagance that has been left behind. ‘Different Danny and Other Stories’ can be seen in two parts – how a stuntman understands the landscape of a city with potential choreography in mind and how residents and production managers interact with a house as a set. ,” says Amshu.
Artist Amshu Chukki | photo credit: special arrangement
He says he has been following stunt director Different Danny’s career in Kannada cinema for over a decade, noting how he views the choreography, stunts and the city as a set. “Cinema machinery shows and hides the stuntman’s role. He plays a duplicate or a body double; Even though he is present on screen, he remains unseen.”
“A lot of my work is research-based and follows a certain formula of investigation. My initial thought was to see where cinematic moments meet in the city’s surroundings and I found that the way a stunt director would go about the city. thinks.”
Amshu sees the process of pre-shoot Reiki as an exploration of urban space and landscape through cinema. He talks about his documentation of houses in Bengaluru that double as film sets and how its residents interact between the cinematic and the domestic.
“Unlike most of us, these people wake up in the morning at their homes and after a while a party comes and changes the course of the house. In the evening they pack up and the family returns to their lives. And when they lead a modular life, they are not only bystanders; They are aware of the cinematic process. They sometimes double as extras or instruct the crew at home vantage points.
‘Resi – Building’ from Amshu Chukki’s solo show ‘Different Danny and Other Stories’. photo credit: special arrangement
Shooting a film transforms a neighborhood by its activity and is a way of looking at a city or landscape through a cinematic register.
According to Amshu, it is the shooting process that leaves behind the participation of residents on the sets of these houses and in the cinematic experience. “This exhibition reflects his experience of this place and his balance between cinema and life. I am carrying forward this aspect of cinematic excesses that gets left behind. ,
“The way the crew positions the equipment, adjusts camera angles and fixes the lighting becomes the way of mapping architecture. Drawings are documented in the text as part of the architectural plan.”
The paintings, videos, drawings, research, installations and sculptures – all created by Amshu over a period of three years – are the result of his research and include various elements of the film world such as stunt equipment doubling as well as a video. Danny apart, complete with voiceover from the stuntman himself.
‘Drawing for Wire Sculptures’ from Amshu Chukki’s solo show ‘Different Danny and Other Stories’. photo credit: special arrangement
Amshu, who studied art at MSU Baroda, has been practicing since 2014 and says a lot of his work is inspired by research. “I work with film and video and my initial approach to work is with a documentary eye. That enquiry, work and research then lends itself to other forms of engagement – drawing, painting or sculpture – is – as appropriate for my research.”
Recipient of Space Studio’s Artists’ Grant for 2021, Amshu Chukki’s solo exhibition ‘Different Danny and Other Stories’ opened for the first time in Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai. It will be on display till June 17 at 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore.