Deshna Mehta

Spontaneity is associated with an unconscious or a subconscious state. The consciousness of the ‘unconscious’ is an imperative for being a witness to the act of spontaneity. The awareness of being spontaneous takes away the spontaneity from the spontaneous act. Observation ceases in the unconscious state affirming the death of the observer. Without an observer, there is no observation. Is it that the observation creates the observer or does the observation emanate from the observer?


The nuances of these complexities surface in my (conscious) practice seeking for an answer. This pursuit led to the exploration of quantum physics and eastern mysticism expressed metaphorically through an ‘act’ive performance and passive ‘left-behind’ traces, suggesting the existence of alternate realities.


‘…what quantum mechanics says is that nothing is real and that we cannot say anything about what things are doing when we are not looking at them. Nothing is real unless it is observed… and we have to accept that the very act of observing a thing changed it.’


– John Gribbon


‘Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.’


– Lao Tzu


A part of the team that organised, curated and designed Red Tape 2012.