Can an online experience ever replace that of a physical gallery? Curators have been grappling with this question ever since the coronavirus lockdown has compelled a reimaging of exhibitions in the digital space. The outcome has been a leap in creativity. Take for instance Phytopia, a digital exhibition on plants by Science Gallery Bengaluru. Through the intersection of art, plants and technology, Phytopia brings together engineers, scientists, designers, artists and biohackers to create an experience that brings alive the dynamic life of plants, urging viewers to see them beyond just being a source of air and food.
The exhibition, which is on view till August 30, has been developed in partnership with the UK-based John Innes Centre, an independent, international centre of excellence in plant science and microbiology.
There are 14 works on plants, under the categories ‘raw’, ‘remedial’, ‘rooted’, ‘regenerative’, ‘radical’, and ‘resilient’. The curators Jahnavi Phalkey, Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, and programme manager Madhushree Kamak have used various formats, including text, images, videos and sound, to make the exhibition as interactive as possible. The exhibition has on view stunning works. In ‘Photosynthegraph’, Yoko Shimizu uses light to produce stunning works of art, such as the portrait of Ingres’ Grande Odalisque printed on a leaf with photosynthesis. ‘Symbiosis’ by Henry Driver, who uses scientific images obtained by research at John Innes Centre, depicts how fungi don’t just act as communication channels for plants but also help restore essential nutrients to them. In ‘Heat’, which is a part of an ongoing project called ‘Jungle Ghadi’, Sanyukta Sharma designs a calendar of the environment around her.
Then there are exhibits on Jagadish Chandra Bose’s study of the inner working of plants through the use of a device called the crescograph and on the life of Janaki Ammal, who was the first director of the Central Botanical Laboratory of India, Lucknow and known for her Sugar Breeding Centre.
The curators have added a human element by introducing mediated explorations, which has youth participants hosting 60-minute online sessions on all days of the exhibition. “The main challenge in turning our physical exhibits into an online experience was to find scientists and artists who were willing to think that way with us,” says Jahnavi.
There was an open call as well as invitations to submit proposals. “We had around 80 submissions from the world over. Our challenge was to not only find interesting exhibits but also to find what was the best format. You can go hi-tech but then you leave out the bulk of the population, which is mostly young adults, our target audience. Very few people will have hi-tech equipment, so if you want to reach them you need to make it accessible,” says Jahnavi. Madhushree agrees, adding, “Our main challenge was to understand accessibility.”
That is another plus point of the exhibition – irrespective of which device you access it from (even a basic smartphone), the quality of the visuals and sound are excellent. The exhibits are introduced by text followed by images and videos. The write-ups are clear and concise, which plays a crucial role in developing a deeper understanding.
“We’re a public institution for research-based engagement and we’re also a science-culture experiment. Our goal is not to inundate people with facts; they can look up any fact on the internet,” says Jahnavi, adding, “What most people need is the ability to make sense of the information that is being provided. Our mandate is to make sense of science, not to teach it. It’s because of this mandate that we’re trying to create a cultural conversation. The text is important to us along with the visuals because we want to create that desire to deepen knowledge.”
Jahnavi contends that the disadvantage of an online exhibition is a lack of shared experience, such as workshops and tutorial sessions, while the major advantage she highlights is its reach. “People can access the exhibition from anywhere. The second advantage is schedule. It doesn’t open at 9 am and close at 10 pm. You can view it at any time,” she says.
Manasi Prasad, director of the Indian Music Experience Museum (IME), agrees that the primary advantage of an online exhibition is its reach. IME, India’s first ever music museum, has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to showcase over 100 artifacts. There are photographs and 360° videos of Bismillah Khan’s shehnai, Ravi Shankar’s sitar and surbahar, MS Subbulakshmi’s tambura, C Ashwath’s harmonium, among others, on view.
“People spend an hour and a half in a physical space. But online they don’t spend more than 5 to 10 minutes,” says Manasi. “The challenge as a curator is to make the online exhibition precise and to the point.”
Though there are disadvantages to online exhibitions, there are plenty of advantages too. Says Manasi, “You can get much more up-close views. You can zoom into the keys of the harmonium or the strings of the tambura. It allows us, curators, to shed light on minute details. For example, Pandit Ravi Shankar’s sitar, which he played towards the end of his life, has stainless steel pegs and the resonator has been flattened to make it portable. The platform also makes metadata available to the viewer, which is important from the perspective of research.”
Manasi agrees there is a torrent of information on art and culture. “There is clutter, and attention spans are getting shorter. But I don’t see clutter as a deterrent. We have to understand who our audiences are, who our stakeholders are. The advantage of showcasing on Google Arts & Culture is its reach.”
Manasi points to another crucial advantage of online exhibitions. “It engages people with disabilities who wouldn’t get the same access to a physical space.”
However, online exhibitions are not monetarily viable. For IME, there is no process for them to collect money for admission, which Manasi admits is a drawback.
In the case of exhibition of paintings, though, the perspective is different. The ongoing The Bengaluru Story, supported by Concern India Foundation, has on display works by Gurudas Sadanand Shenoy, JMS Mani, G Subramanian, Rajini Rekha, among others.
Pampa Chowdhury, regional manager at Concern India Foundation, says, “It’s not limited to Bengaluru. Somebody sitting in Kolkata can also become my potential buyer. But viewing a painting in a physical space can never be replaced. There is ambience, you discuss with connoisseurs. The disadvantage is that art works are being sold at a much lower price.”
However, what remains to be seen is if online exhibitions are sustainable in the long run.
Sravasti Datta is a freelance journalist with a decade’s experience in features journalism.