Contemporising Indian picture recitation through performance

Picture recitation is a multi-sensory experience combining image, text, voice, memory, and performance. It was historically performed in India, but is now a dying art form. My affinity for this art form is investigated through contemplation about my personal and cultural background, to unravel how various elements of this practice have already been embedded in my lived experience. This practice-led research culminates in a picture recitation of one-hour duration, drawing on the influence of ancient Indian poetry as well as mediaeval Indian miniature paintings, and contemporises it with research from neuroscience and microbiology and the aesthetics of scientific digital illustration. This dissertation discusses background to the research, the methodology of performance and how it has improved with the uptake of new skills, as well as challenges faced at various stages, and changes made through reflection and analysis, providing insights into embodied, tacit, and observational knowledge, to inspire readers to initiate their picture recitation practice. My studio practice explores the interconnections of humans and their environments via erotic and emotional affect and post-human agency as the content of picture recitation, while simultaneously attempting to decolonise cultural knowledge by drawing upon traditional Indian art forms in a contemporary manner. During the final examination, my picture recitation performance titled Why Runs the Abhisarika will be performed live at RMIT University.