BBF: You have recently visited the USA to perform at the Immersive Life Art Performance Festival. Being a globally recognized artist, how would you define the concept of an Immersive Life Art Performance?

Preema: Well, my performance art has been immersive all the way as I offer my audience an experience that is real for that moment and creates a prolonged memory for a lifetime. My art has always been interactive and experiential (physically and psychologically) and I never hesitated to cultivate it through my work. Most of my performances are immersive, as they are mostly interactive, reactive and sometimes proactive too. That’s how I perceive to immerse (tangible, sensual environments) my own reality of art and engage others to be in it to have the same kind of experiences developing new image.

BBF: Why did you choose to perform in this exclusive festival held in the USA? How is performance art different from any other art forms?

Preema: I was a part of the group curated by my artist friend Cai Ching in Kassel, Germany, in 2022. Recently launched Immersive Live Art 8 is the extension of the live art tours 6 and 7. Immersive Live Art 8 was chosen to happen in New York (1st half) and the next half took place in Rosekill Art Farm from 21st to 30th of September with the invited performance artists worldwide. In between the festivals, there will be independent performances in the grace exhibition space in Manhattan, where in two days, artists will perform their pieces individually.
The art form focuses on the conceptual, the artist’s body and movements, and variations of immersion, interactivity, and improvisation. It is relevant because of its depth, texture and capacity for instant intuitive innovation. Since it involves the body and texture of many layers, it is a highly spiritual, political and contemporary discourse of art forms.

Performance art deals with Real and Reality, it cannot deal with fakeness, period.

BBF: Do you think different cultures could influence performance in different ways? If so, how performance art can contribute to changing the world for the better?

Preema: I think so, but it depends on the artist. Cultural identity shapes the subject matter and the context of art, influencing artists to create works that reflect the experiences, beliefs and traditions of their community. This definitely influences performance art as well. The idea of the performance can be personal to political, reflecting the social, cultural and even historical context.
Artists can also perform culture through their performances.

Art has no liabilities. It should be free. Performance art should hugely change the context of the imagination of art. Live art means a reality; there is no fake in it. If any art could directly impact society, it is performance art that would bring betterment to the world.

BBF: What was your approach towards the festival through your performance?

I attempted three impromptu performances titled “Breathe I”, and “Breathe II” at Union Square. And the third one was performing the sound piece at the Grace Exhibition space in Manhattan, which was an experimental action and improvisation with classical music, text and sound.

Breath II was a collaborative performance with a local vocal band that used to perform every evening at the Union Square Garden. As I said before, I was warming up for my major performance, which took place at the main square and on the 15th evening, the durational action called “Caution with Love”, was an hour-long performance that was an immersive experience that included engaging audience, dialogues, repetitive actions and the vibrant main patio of the union square.

BBF: How is performance art different and relevant to today’s global culture and beliefs compared with traditional media of art and expression?

Preema: As performance art tends to lean conceptual, performance artists seek to create art from unexpected actions. Although performance artists might reprise and adapt other works, the site of the performance is usually the artist’s own body in relation to the space it inhabits. Performance art is interactive and fluid. This is the only form of art that directly engages the audience and turns them into active participants. The audience makes the senses and constructs its meaning. This form of art is not only interpersonal but also educational on a very deeper level.

BBF: Do you follow any strategy while creating a performance art piece?
What techniques do you use, and how do you create the expressional nuances while developing a performance?

Preema: I believe “In the name of art one can do and say almost anything and everything.” At times I chose not to follow any strategy just by responding to my calling of gestures, movements, and acts – which became the most important elements. Sometimes I planned the action. At times, the actions or reactions were fluid. There is a thin line in between. The challenge is how do I melt into that invisible line of unspoken decisions I make while doing any performance piece.

It took me a long time to understand that “less is more”. Therefore, I have to have a solid plan to execute to handle my act, involvements and use of objects or moments. So the simple technique I use to be precise and be on point to my vision of what I want to achieve. The abstraction should be there but that cannot be a destruction. The techniques are always improvisational and I learn more by doing. It’s like experimenting all the time to create new content that might be relevant in the realm of practicing performance art.

BBF: We know that the name “Nazia Andaleeb Preema” stands for a virtue that challenges stereotypical norms and practices. What inspires you to cultivate this abundant freedom inside you?

Preema: Freedom is an inherent quality; it cannot be cultivated or practiced. But freedom can be jeopardized and it can be fatal too. To be in full freedom one has to learn the art of taking challenges. Freedom comes from honesty and integrity. Courage and being fearless also ignite the spark of freedom within. I am open to constant learning, and the ability to be vulnerable is a great virtue that makes one free. We have to remember everything is a mindset and make-believe. If we listen to our own consciousness, use our senses, we can truly understand right and wrong in the context of a particular event or behavior. Freedom comes from awareness and it is triggered by giving back and doing good, always.

BBF: Today’s world is filled with digital content that engages people in less time. Additionally, creators’ strive for fame and money has never been more than today. So, among these contradictions, how do you think a dedicated and critical media like performance art will reach the masses?

Preema: It has never been easy for creativity and art to reach the masses. Performance art is a media that teaches self-expression, the form of performance helps society as a whole in self-knowledge and understanding. Performance art requires a lot of ideas and creativity. It is never easy to reach the masses to understand performance art. Art is a very technical language; though it is universal, it is a language that requires a lot of knowledge and wisdom. Art can be liked easily but it is difficult to perceive and it is even more difficult to connect with. Having said that art is one of those very important tools with its own vocabulary; that’s the power of art. I believe through more and more exposure; performance art also can be reached by the masses.

BBF: How do you define yourself as an artist? When does an artist’s work go beyond time?

Preema: I am a process-oriented highly experimental artist. I challenge my process and I am not a conformist. My art practice is very much aligned with my life and philosophy. As an artist, I had to take risks to explore new avenues/possibilities. I create to destroy in search of new dimensions. Art deals with uncertainty and is a learning experience to challenge my creative ability to express my reality. As an artist, I believe in innovation. I am also an entrepreneur and activist; both are essential for an artist to be independent. I can only be creative to evolve and immerse while I express the best possible way I can to reach my unknown territory.

Time will tell if an artist’s work can go beyond time or not. An artist can only be honest and follow her instinct and intuition in order to create art. It is very difficult to be satisfied as art is a highly complicated discourse and the hunger of not doing enough is the way to go with one’s passion through massive creativity.

Author- – Nazia Andaleeb Preema