Shakti Callikan PASSIONATELY MORIS MORIS PASSIONNÉMENT Meeting others, questioning, experiencing the unique beauty of the island and sharing it with others is Shakti Callikan’s quest. Aller à la rencontre, questionner, expérimenter la beauté singulière de l’île et la partager, telle est la quête de Shakti Callikan. BY VIRGINIE LUC PHOTOGRAPHS NATHALIE BAETENS Shakti Callikan was born in Paris and studied history at the Sorbonne. “But more importantly, I grew up in Mauritius,” says Shakti, who is 45. “It’s the island that is the living source. I have a strong sense of belonging to this complex and unique land. I am mixed-race, so I was brought up with two cultures, Hindi and Franco-Mauritian, which is very enriching.” After living in Delhi for seven years, where her two sons were born, she came back and settled in Poudre d’Or in the north of the island in 2014. It was here that she decided to set up her studio, a place of light and poetry that reflects her insatiable curiosity. “I like questioning and studying things; there’s a playful aspect to my approach. I was naturally inspired by the generosity and creativity of my family, my grandfather, the painter Hervé Masson, and my parents, Brigitte Masson, a writer and Dan Callikan, who encouraged me to be curious since a very young age.” SHARING Shakti quickly became involved in a whole range of projects from supporting human rights and promoting cultural tourism (co-founder of My Moris) to producing podcasts that gave Mauritians a platform (Fam Palab; Sugar Canes and Prejudices). These projects brought people together to share and broadcast their experiences and helped create artistic connections. In 2020, Shakti launched the book-object Mots Kouler (beautifully constructed by graphic designer Nelly Yip Tong), in which she invented words for colours. “I invented a Mauritian palette – Chinatown rouz (red), vinnday zonn (curcumin yellow), gato koko roz (pink coconut cake), etc. – that talks about us and to us, reflects who we are and brings us together.” These ideas led to the Terres Marronnes (Brown Lands) project. Fascinated by the island’s geological variety, Shakti collected dozens of piles of soil from around the island, which allowed her to discover its different densities, textures and shades of colour. “I realised that the soil was speaking to me. In that of Yemen, I heard the shouts. In other places, such as Chamarel, the earth was full of joy. As if it held the memory of the past.” CREATIVE ENERGY Her journey led her to think about working the clay she had collected, so she studied how she could work these “sleeping soils” with her hands, inventing mixes with white sandstone, experimenting with pottery and sharing her techniques and discoveries with the island’s craft potters and ceramicists who, as a result, could work with local earth if they wished. “I would refer to myself as an ’explorer’ rather than an ’artist’. I’m not looking to produce tangible work, but instead to cultivate a way of being in the world and a way of sharing my almost child-like wonder with others. It’s the journey rather than the destination that interests me, with all its bumps in the road, detours and encounters.” She clearly lives up to her name. In Hinduism, Shakti means the creative feminine energy, the main dynamic tenet of nature or the divine. “I LIKE QUESTIONING AND STUDYING THINGS; THERE’S A PLAYFUL ASPECT TO MY APPROACH.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjMzMjI=