
Actualités
Nandita Kumar, From paradigm to paradigm, into the biomic time — in partnership with D.A.A.D
⇢ 19.04.22 — 06.06.23
Following her residency and exhibition at DAAD , we are really proud to present her work at the gallery for her second soloshow.
Nandita’s « From Paradigm to Paradigm, Into the Biomic time » is playfully reminiscent of a newspaper-press, stuck in an eternal loop. The work comments on the constant regurgitation of misinformed and manipulative facts by individuals and organizations as they influence public opinion to protect their own interests: a reminder to listen closely to the echoes of history and avoid mindlessly replaying the discordant notes of the past.
As the challenges and environmental consequences of climate change are manifested, Nandita Kumar reflects on the knowledge gap between the scientific community, political spheres, and the populace at large. While fake news has plagued climate and environmental science for decades, slowing or completely derailing “progress,” information overload, complexity, and lack of meaning has left people feeling anxious and powerless to enact real environmental change.
Kumar’s work deconstructs political rhetoric related to various environmental issues by collating statements made by influential individuals, politicians, and organizations. Employing the very methods of data manipulation and fake news, the statements were transformed by an algorithmic “haiku” generator in order to produce a poem to accompany each of the untrue statements. Forming a glitching musical code, the resulting ninety-one haikus play out through a forty-foot pianola score. The accompanying digital publication allows the viewer to connect each of the poems to its original statement, alongside expanded essays detailing the truth behind these falsehoods.
The sound installation has been collaboratively developed during Kumar’s DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program residency and comprises five sonic journeys representing the elements – earth, water, fire, air, and void – and will culminate in a performance that includes voicing the haikus alongside the pianola player, a collage of found sound and live foley with refuse and recycled objects.
“History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme” – Mark Twain
Collaborators from Berlin:Merche Blasco, Christian Kesten, Felicity Mangan, Alex Nowitz, Ute WassermanProject-development collaborators:
Co-researcher & co-writer (publication): Pooja Das
Publication editor: Tim Rutherford Johnson, Malcolm Riddoch
Haiku co-editor: Priyanka Tagore
Co-graphic designer: Shikha Usgaonker
Engineer: Subhadeep Biswas
Pianola code: Matt Gingold
1050 Bruxelles - Belgique
The gallery was created to present and promote in and from Brussels, the young contemporary art scenes from the « emerging » countries. Following of seasonal themed programmation of 5 to 7 solo-shows questioning the essence of frontiers, time and politics, different discours, medias, origins, and art practices. The seasons are as follow: India 2016/17, Africa and its diaspora 17/18, Central & South America 18/19 and Arabic Countries 19/20. All the shows in one season are interlinked not by the « origin » or « place of work » of the artist, but by the questions and « Propos » defended by each artist. Following our aim to introduce different cultures, a book will be edited and a seminar organized.