This solo piece by Archana Kumar in Bengaluru blurs the line between performance and personal truth

In her latest solo performance, All About Nothing, acclaimed performer and movement artiste Archana Kumar brings a new experiential piece — one where existential reflection takes centre stage. Blurring the lines between life and performance, Archana crafts a meditative inquiry into the illusions that shape human existence: our routines, relationships, ambitions and emotional constructs. She gently nudges the viewer toward a profound question: What is truth and why do we cling to our imagined versions of it?

“This life I lead continuously feeds into my creative work — the performer and the person are inseparable. All About Nothing emerged from a series of questions I kept asking myself: Why was I so attached to certain things? Why did I hold on to rage or unsettling emotions? Why did certain news affect me so deeply? My mother would often say, ‘Archana, you take everything too personally.’ But perhaps that’s precisely what it means to be an artiste — we absorb the world around us. How could it not affect me? That sensitivity is the artiste in me,” she begins.

All About Nothing lies in the realisation that there is nothing and yet, everything. It is a quiet but powerful confrontation with the impermanence and imagined nature of our realities. The improvisational work draws inspiration from the philosophy of butoh pioneer Kazuo Ohno, who said, “Art can’t be taught. I believe that a piece of work comes out naturally from a human, just like one human comes out of another. You must have life coming out of you — your art.”

Archana elucidates, “This work echoes the belief that while technique can be taught — be it kathak, modern dance forms like flamenco — true art must arise from within. The integration of these styles, the honesty behind the expression, cannot be taught. Art, for me, begins where life and creativity meet. To live as an artiste is to constantly draw from that intersection. The philosophy of butoh resonates deeply here — it reminds us that art isn’t learned, it’s lived.”

The soundscape emerged organically through improvisation and a series of in-depth conversations with guitarist Kamal Singh. “Once the collaboration clicked, I began structuring the piece into five or six segments, each with its own emotional tone. I shared visual and emotional cues with Kamal, describing how I felt in each section and he either complemented or contrasted that mood. It was a process built entirely on trust, grounded in his calibre as a musician and our shared sensitivity to the work,” the artiste shares.

₹400. May 20, 7.30 pm. At Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar.