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Leaving their mark

German artist Helgard Zurmuehl has captured people's impressions of Auroville with footprints, handprints and tyre marks, writes Deepa H Ramakrishnan

UNIQUE VIEWPOINTS German artist Helgard Zurmuehl Photo: T. Singaravelou

Auroville, the universal township gives each one of us a different impression. For some it is a place that guides them in their spiritual search, while for others it is a place that resounds with the voice of the Mother and for still others a tourist destination with "different kinds of things to see".

German artist Helgard Zurmuehl has recorded the impressions of all kinds of people not through words but with their handprints, footprints and even bike, car and tractor tyre marks. Not just people, even trees and chickens reared in Auroville have contributed.

"I call it an art project. I waited in front of the solar kitchen during lunchtime, gave a sheet of paper and colours to the people around and asked them to make their hand impressions. My paintings with tyre marks were made by laying papers on the road and letting vehicles pass over them. I wanted to find different aspects of Auroville and so I took the prints and put them up in a special way. I have hung the paintings inside clear glass holders so that you can see both the sides of the sheets. I want people to understand the concept of Auroville through my paintings and also make their own interpretations," says Zurmuehl, whose art installations are on show at the Gallery Square Circle in Bharat Nivas Complex, Auroville.

Dance of joy

The footsteps in the exhibition are those of the children in a kindergarten. She gave them a few movements and let them experience their feet on various media including sand, wet grass and paint. "They enjoyed the experience and danced in joy over the paper," she says.

While one aspect of the installation is about impressions, the other is about the body and its movements. "For me the body is an expression of the soul and so I let the children move as they pleased. The installations also are not fixed like sheets of paper to a board but hung from wires so that they can move freely. At the inauguration, we had a dance performance symbolising the five elements of Nature," says Zurmuehl. The exhibition, titled "Movements and Impressions in Auroville", will be on till March 31during daytime.

"When I first came here in 1978, the place looked quite different. I remember how I used to water small saplings in the mornings. There was no shade and it was hot. I wanted to stay here but I had to go back to Germany to complete my studies. I was studying to be a teacher and creative work was part of the course. I learnt to work with cotton, silk and natural materials. Since then I have been interested in the study of humans. Though I always felt close to Auroville, I was away till 1997. Now I spend six months in Germany and the other six in Auroville," says the 56-year-old artist.

Zurmuehl feels that Auroville is a place for "inner growing" and also the place to meet people who think similar and as for the town, it is the town of the future. "It is a special spiritual place. I feel India is a spiritual country and I can feel this more deeply here than in Europe.

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