By michael solender

Communicating creatively means working in layers for multi-media artist Indrani Nayar-Gall.

That’s why her work at the intersection of visual art, filmmaking, moving image media and social justice activism calls for a nuanced approach, one she finds exciting. In 2016 she expanded her studio-based artistic practice into filmmaking with the experimental documentary, “Devadasi Now.” The film explored the banned (though still practiced) cultural system of Devadasi, where impoverished “untouchable” caste village girls are ritually enslaved into religious servitude and prostitution in remote parts of India.

Her foray into filmmaking led her to a broader audience taking her work beyond the walls of galleries and museums into movie-houses and screens across the globe.

“The experience fed my desire to further explore the power behind visual media that transcends language,” said Nayar-Gall, a 2021 ASC Creative Renewal Fellowship recipient. “Artists always have a list of projects and personal development they want to pursue yet never seem to have funding for. This fellowship has opened a world of opportunity for me and allows me to expand my practice into creative areas that are exciting. I’m looking at ways of storytelling and taking my work in completely different directions.”

With her fellowship, Nayar-Gall recently completed a 10-week intensive online program in moving image media with the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She focused her studies in three areas: animation, after-effects, and digital photography.

“I wanted to expand my technical capabilities and understanding of filmmaking processes,” she said. “Filmmaking is collaborative and for me to better know what outcomes are possible, it can help me become a better director and creator. There are so many layers and different ways imagery can be reimagined and interpreted.

“I’ve always wanted to say something about what is going on in the world from a social justice perspective. My initial goal with ‘Devadasi Now’ was to bring the stories of these girls from remote Indian villages to light and bring pressure to eradicate the system.”  

Her initial work led her to create a second film, one that she has recently completed.  “String of Stories” is feature length documentary following three Devadasis with similar yet different circumstances and stories, yet still ensnared in this unjust system. Nayar-Gall is looking for distribution outlets and film festivals for forthcoming screenings.

Using her ASC fellowship to gain experience in new ways to manipulate imagery, Nayar-Gall likened her recent experimental work as the difference between creating a painting compared to a collage, noting she sees her artistic video creations as conceptual.

“Documentary filmmaking is based in fact and doesn’t allow for straying beyond that which is true,” she said. “With conceptual work, I can create fictions based upon facts, yet be infinitely more creative in the telling. I’m beyond words enthusiastic to see where this will take me.”