Indonesia Bertutur Festival, Ubud, Bali 2024

Invited by performance artist and curator Melati Suryodarmo to present at Indonesia Bertutur Festival 2024 in Ubud, Bali, Rakini Devi’s new site- specific work Kali Shrine adhered to the theme of the festival, that celebrated cultural heritage, sustainable culture, and art as a source of knowledge.

Rakini Devi’s Goddess Kali iconography as performance ritual is inspired by the temporary shrines in her birthplace Kolkata (called pandals) that traditionally adorn the city during Hindu festivals. Her aesthetics distil these memories and her training in Indian classical dance (Odissi and Bharatanatyam). The work celebrates the female body as sacred site and as feminist performance activism.

This durational site -specific work was presented at the beautiful Neka Art Museum, Ubud, Bali. Devi has performed the theme of the Goddess Kali over two decades, in various incarnations and styles, as dance, theatre, and live art installation. Each live art performance is inspired by the architecture, cultural and historical importance of the environment. 

Kali Shrine for Indonesia Bertutur was a three-hour durational work that included sound and continuous stylised actions and dance-based movement.

Kali performance repertoire:

2017 Urban Kali, Lennox Theatre, Sydney.

https://rakinidevi.net/urban-kali/

2022 Urban Kali, 4a Gallery, Sydney, produced by Intimate Spectacle.

https://rakinidevi.net/urban-kali-4a-gallery/

2020 Kali Madonna 3D film directed by Carlos Gomes filmed by Samuel James.

https://rakinidevi.net/kali-madonna-vr/

2019 Kolkata Kali, Site specific performance, India.

https://rakinidevi.net/kolkata-kali/

2019 Kolkata Kali #2 Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, video and live art performance for Artbar.

https://rakinidevi.net/kolkata-kali-2-mca-artbar/

2014 Kali Madonna, Village Bizarre, The Rocks Sydney, seven- week performance installation.

https://rakinidevi.net/kali-madonna/