The videoinstallation

Ananda, Happiness, Lycka
exhibited in BildMuséet, Umeå and Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm in May 2002.

2001 Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse granted me money
for going to India and attend dr Kataria's School of
Laughter Yoga, in Mumbai, which I didin November 2001.

It's my findings from there, the rest of India and from the
Indian population of Singapore , that were shown as a
video-installation on my graduation- exhibition from
Konsthögskolan, Umeå university.
On BildMuséet, Umeå the installation was situated in a 77 sqm large space, where I could make use of also the senses of smell and hearing, thus that incense was burned and that the sounds have gotten the spaces they craved, while there were also seats to encourage dwelling on the meditative sense of theinstallation. In Wetterling Gallery the space was limited to one monitor with headphones .

On a "back-projection"-screan hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room a video-projection shows a video from the Ganges, intertwined with double-projections from laughter-sessions in Mumbai. Dr Madan Kataria tells about the philosophy, techniques and all the advantages of
laughter-yoga, while the laughters are demonstrated at the screan and also as ca 2,5 m wide projections on to two walls, facing each other in the opposite direction to the screan.

Later on the Diwali-celebrations from an ashram in Maharashtra, India are also double-projected on the screan. Diwali is celebrated by all Indians, never mind their religions and it is a feast of lights for Lakshmi, the
goddess of happiness. A Hindi-priest tells about his annual fire-walking for happiness, which is an ancient Indian custom. Occasionally scenes from the laughter-clubs return and dr Kataria tells about the medical profits that laughter can bring.

During a quarter of an hour a dance-performance is shown on the screan. Sanjana Subraniam conveys her Arangetram Bharata Natyam, since dance is a divine Indian path to happiness. The God Shiva is considered to be the premier dancer. The installation consists of two DVD:s , with the images and sounds, and of five A3 colour-signs. All the voices are in English, while all text on the signs were in Swedish (this can also be madein English).