Into the forest of Taurus
In January 2021, an unorthodox exhibition in a carpark that celebrated the ox was on display at Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. This exhibition was a joint effort between SCCC and MeshMinds, a creative technology studio. It brought together 8 artists who created artworks celebrating the year of the ox.
We had a chat with Mithra Jeevananthan, an illustrator and one of the artists in the exhibition about her work, Taurus Forest.
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Mithra in front of her installation, Taurus Forest
Courtesy of Mithra Jeevananthan
Mithra's installation reimagines the habitat of the Gaur, a Malayan breed of cattle, and the largest member of the bovine family found in the wild. As one travels through the exhibition, her work is activated through augmented reality, animating a head of a Gaur through the lens of a mobile device.
Taking part in an exhibition centred around the Chinese zodiac of the ox, Mithra shared her process as a non-Chinese artist. She found herself looking into other cultural practices, taking aspects of various sources she has encountered, from horn painting practices in South Asia, to traditional Asian tattoo design.
“When I went to Kerala, I loved how the cows were always decorated with flowers and their horns were beautifully painted.”
An illustration from Taurus Forest
Courtesy of Mithra Jeevananthan
Mithra also references other practices of astrology. She explains that astrology has always been a part of her life one way or another; from how Hindu astrology influences the choosing of a new-born's name, to predicting and guiding one's future. She also notes that the ox in the Chinese zodiac has many similarities to the Taurus, in that they are both associated with the element earth. Mithra finds some truth in it, as while she doesn’t have any Taurus's in her self-described 'chaotic chart', the people closest to her do, and they keep her ‘grounded’. She does lament that there is an increasing cultural diffusion with regards to astrology, in the way yoga and turmeric lattes have become commonplace.
Between the conversations of her subjects to various facets of culture, the gaur and the ox find common ground in the Taurus Forest.
We would like to thank Mithra Jeevananthan for chatting with us and sharing her processes and documentation.