In the dual image of Jiva Parthipan and his younger self, juxtaposed by collaborating artist Zanny Begg—there’s a moving duo playing out on two digital screens. Two clear tempos are established as the younger body on the left screen enjoys his strength, with an articulated and extended left leg voraciously eating up space, casting the shadows of Indian classical and contemporary dance training, frenetic in its corporeal understanding of space. On the right screen, an older Jiva harnesses stillness—moving slowly with the gravitas of a theatrical stage walk—seemingly simple, but, in the tremors of Parkinson’s Disease, this movement is miraculous. The serenity in his face conjures the passage of time, lives lived in his dark eyes bringing to the fore the blackness of the background. The two bodies are in a netherworld, a psychological space, in communion with each other—or is it a reckoning?
Paschal Daantos Berry
Pakiboy2, by Jiva Parthipan and Zanny Begg, was commissioned by Campbeltown Arts Centre in February 2025.
Pakiboy² is a two-channel film installation comprising documentation of an original dance work created by Jiva Parthipan, London 2000, alongside a re-staging, Sydney 2025, in which the artist dances with his younger self.
The original ‘Pakiboy’ performance explored themes such as coming out to family, desire and being comfortable in one’s own skin. ‘Pakiboy²’, conceived in collaboration with Zanny Begg returns to this original performance over twenty years later to re-explore these themes while also addressing Jiva’s degenerative neurological condition, Parkinson’s Disease, and the aging body.
Pakiboy² explores what is means to be human and how we can find strength and joy in our bodies as they age, transform, degenerate and transcend. As Jiva dances with his younger self, re-performing everyday rituals, such as having a cup of tea, and inventing new movements and dances, his body shakes with disease but also commands with presence; revealing what is lost as we age – but also what is gained.
Jiva died shortly after making this work, Zanny continues to share this work in his loving memory.
Dance Your Life Away: A Tribute to Jiva Parthipan, Art Guide Australia, by Zanny Begg, 2025.
Dramaturg Martin del Amo
Sound Designer Kate Carr
Cinematographer Jude Ella
Camera Assistant Dane Howell
Movement Coach Diane Busuttil
Lighting Designer Frankie Clarke
Colour Grader Yanni Kronenberg
Creative Producer Anthea Doropoulos
Curator Emily Rolfe
To read catalogue essay by Paschal Daantos Berry click here.
Jiva Parthipan:
Jiva Parthipan was a curator, director and artist based in Sydney and working internationally. Trained in Classical Indian dance, Jiva gained his Masters in Performance from Goldsmith College, London, and was the first male dancer to perform with Shobana Jeyasingh, a pioneering British Indian contemporary dance company.
Jiva’s multidisciplinary performance works have been seen at Tate Modern; ICA London; International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, Paris / Dublin; National Review of Live Arts, Glasgow; Performance Space, Sydney; Bone Festival Switzerland; Jomba Festival South Africa to name a few.
Since migrating to Australia, Jiva’s credits as creative producer include Handfed, MCA; 1001 Nights in Fairfield with Powerhouse Youth Theatre; and Dance Africa Dance, Riverside, Parramatta. As cultural development officer at STARTTS in Western Sydney, Jiva‘s work mediates artists from diverse communities.
Jiva was an alumni of Australia Council’s leadership programme and in 2020 curated PARAI YAH! for the Biennale of Sydney, and co-curated with Nina Miall OLDER THAN LANGUAGE at Salamanca Arts Centre. Stories of Kannagi, a video work creatively produced by Jiva and directed by Zanny Begg won the residency prize of the 2020 Blake Prize. Previously Jiva was an associate lecturer in performance at Central St Martin’s College, London. Essays about him appear in A Country Too Far published by Penguin Australia and Fiona Kelly McGregor’s essay collection Buried not dead.
Zanny Begg:
Zanny Begg has a PhD in Art History and Theory from the University of NSW. She is visual artist based in Sydney and working internationally. She is the 2023 Visual Art Fellow for Creative Australia, the winner of the 66th Blake Prize Established Artist Residency 2020, she was selected for the ACCA Open commission 2020, was the 2018 winner of the inaugural ACMI and Artbank film commission, the 2016 winner of the Incinerator Art Award, Art for Social Change, the 2016 winner of the Terrence and Lynnette Fern Cite Residency Paris and a retrospective of her recent video works is touring across Australia, supported by Museums and Galleries NSW. Her work is also touring with an ACMI exhibition on Australian video art.
Zanny has a long history of creating engaging and visually compelling works in public and community settings. She has been invited to participate in eight biennales around the world, including Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere the 60th Venice Biennale has been commissioned to create public artworks at the Pumping Station, Melbourne and for Orange Regional Gallery, NSW. Zanny’s work has been reviewed in arts magazines and journals around the world and featured on ABC TV and is held in major collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and the Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.
‘Pakiboy’ was first performed at Watermans Arts Centre, London followed by a tour to Institute of Contemporary Arts and Resolution Festival, London, and Contact Theatre, Manchester. ‘Pakiboy’ (2000) Sound Designer Seth Ayyaz