video by Luca Sorgato

Andrea d’Amore for Video Sound Art Festival 2023 proposes the performance Masala wine, a convivial practice conceived by the artist in dialogue with David Claerbout’s work, The Pure Necessity, on display. The intervention is triggered by the Belgian artist’s feature-length film, a reinterpretation of the classic The Jungle Book (1967): the narrative leaves the screen and expands into the room, generating a full sensory experience. Visitors will be offered a hot drink prepared with garam masala (गरम मसाला in Hindi), a spice mixture typical of Indian cuisine, the setting of Rudyard Kipling’s novel. The artist embodies Shere Khan, an antagonistic tiger from The Jungle Book: the death of Shere Khan, which the artist imagines escaped, plays a pivotal role in the performance that relates the fire to the punishment of the negative character. A new perspective on the narrative is offered through a shared experience: an implicit reassessment of the tiger and Promethean hybris.

text by VSA