Part of Sanzgiri’s 2021 “Barobar Jagtana” trilogy, Golden Jubilee is a video installation focused on colonialism in India. Filled with an array of media such as digital renderings, filmed video, and text, the film encapsulates the culture of Goa and its history as a colonial port turned vacation hub.
Sanzgiri focuses on anticolonialism. His family hails from Goa, India, but he now lives in the US. He uses the unique tool of 3D renderings in the software Rhino. Not only does he show the finished renderings, but the footage from using the software itself before the final version is rendered, ultimately including the process in his final work.
The film is heavy with imagery of post-colonial Goa depicting aspects like slow, undulating shots of India’s natural landscape interspersed with short poems about Indian anti-colonialism sentiments along with 3D renderings of Sanzgiri’s family home. The renderings show close-ups and wide shots of the home, but the most eye-catching are the translucent shots. One scene, lasting a few minutes, slowly walks through Sanzgiri’s home. A darkness lingers in the background; all the shots are layered, transparent, and dreamlike, as if they were sheer layers of fabric atop one another. The renderings resemble decay, a suggestion of the fall of India’s colonial system. This piece is a reclamation of ownership, and a step towards India's decolonized future.
Paul Howell*
You’ve did a great job capturing the "meaning" of Golden Jubilee. I liked how you highlight Sanzgiri’s use of unusual techniques like Rhino renderings and his focus on the process, which adds a unique dimension to the work and also connects to you as a ID major, I can see the personal interest in the process of the work.
ReplyDeleteI think it might help to go deeper a bit more into how the "ghostly, dreamlike quality of the renderings" ties into the theme of colonialism. You mention decay, which I really liked, but I think you could explore how this relates to his personal connection to Goa and the idea of reclaiming history.
Your final point about this piece as a step toward India’s future is strong. I think you could make it even stronger by adding more on how Golden Jubilee fits into the larger narrative of post-colonial identity and post-colonial art.
I liked your piece a lot and could see a lot of you through it which made it lovely to read.