Hipfest 2017 brings alive the various hues of Nagaland

Dimapur, Dec. 5 (EMN): Appreciating the things that are taken for granted on a daily basis, Heather Layton, an interdisciplinary artist and senior lecturer of Arts in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Rochester, is interested in our ability to empathise; her paintings and installations attempt to reimagining the world from a perspective other than her own. With over 25 exhibitions in the past five years, and having given artist talks and conference presentations, Layton’s exhibition has been put up at HIPFEST 2017 - watercolour and pencil on paper. Heather Layton’s works includes a series on ‘dirt,’ and speaking about it, she said that it tries to highlight the importance of dirt, how nothing can grow apart from it. Usually, people focus on the flowers and plants, forgetting the dirt, which is essential for the growth of flowers and plants. Heather Layton along with renowned Naga photographers, Rokovor Vihienuo and Merimvu Doulo judged the HIPFEST 2017 photography contest on 4th December, 2017. Rokovor Vihienuo, based in Kohima, is a wedding photographer; he has been involved in wedding photography for the past 12 years and also deals with graphic designing. Merimvu Doulo is a photographer, freelancer, graphic designer and he has brought out several coffee table books also. While appreciating the beautiful works done by the Naga photographers in the competition, Heather Layton expressed hope that their works can also be showcased to the outside world. Judging the photography contest on the theme ‘Colours of Nagaland,’ Rokovor Vihienuo was of the view that the photos should have a ‘touch of Naga’ to it, something that is unique to Nagaland. Expressing a similar view, Doulo cited the case of a picture which shows a Naga traditional house with a church in the background, captioned ‘From darkness to light,’ saying it aptly depicts the essence of ‘Colours of Nagaland.’ Altogether, 45 participants took part in the photography contest, of which nine participants were in the children’s category (13 years and below). The judges focused on the artistic and cultural side, giving importance to Naga culture in particular. The results will be announced on 7th December and prize distribution will be held on 10th December, 2017. (DIPR Feature)