How to Live Together? seeks to develop productive and tender forms of living together. How can we build spaces and frameworks in which one recognizes and respects the individual rhythms of the other?
We feel an urgency to rethink institutional structures and artist-led collaborations in these times of unrest and contagion, where resources are scarce. We were struck by the ambition and pressure to create anew, instead of learning from our peers and sourcing from the immense labour and fertile material of each other’s work - building from where we left, instead of building from scratch.
How do we build institutional knowledge? How can we share resources, models and frameworks? How can sustainability be ideas and not tangible resources only? – are key questions of this project. Primarily independent, artist-led and alternate initiatives in South Asia and Switzerland, we are invested in curatorial and cultural endeavours that are open source, adaptable and free for everyone to access, adopt and use.
Conceptually, our research dwells on the radical possibility of bodies and its languages. There is no single way of extracting meaning and this was the cue for us to imagine a speculative project that brings together our knowledge to build an ecology of ideas, and frameworks. Keeping in mind the modes of operation, and limitations emerging not only from the pandemic, but also in the many strategies citizen protests around the world have had to devise towards resistance movements. Our collaborators will approach performance through conditions like temperature, climate, “pull of the mother tongue”, missing/surrogate sounds (etc.) and processes such as creolization, migration, assimilation, and erasure.
Absence
Participating institutions nominate artists that will engage in a slow process of sharing, learning, unlearning and building consciously.
To sense through the other: Keeping in mind the limitations with the pandemic and the ways in which it has altered our time and lives, artists will develop mechanisms of sensing site and place through each other.
For example, an artist in Zurich will experience Dhaka virtually and through letters and drawings from a Bangladeshi artist and vice versa. This material will form both research and provocations for the respective artists to devise works.
To write a recipe: The engagements of the artists will also form the material for a knowledge-sharing platform, where their conversations, ideas, resources and bibliographies will be shared and freely available.
Audiences across the globe will be able to access/add/edit this material to create a free/democratic platform for constructive debate and feedback.
To time travel: Taking advantage of the four time zones, year one will crescendo in performances across time on a dedicated, online platform. Artists will invite us into their lives (homes, studios, vicinities) for solo and collaborative performances, readings and lecture performances.
To nourish each other: The proposal intends to build a forum that favours sustainability of ideas and actions, over infrastructures. We are thus prefacing the proposal with long term engagement between artist led institutions and artists, to build a concentrated curriculum and frameworks that we can share, adopt and edit. A ‘publication’, for lack of a better word.
Presence
To build, one brick at a time: Year two will begin with discussions of sustainable physical structures to host shape-shifting institutions and performances. Artists will work with each other to ‘source’ and ‘build’ – above all adapt to the possibilities and sensitivities of the site.
Body to Body, Breath to Breath: The two years of work will be brought together physically in Goa in December 2023. The artists will physically share 1 week to 10 days of time and space together, as they build a final event titled “incidents”.
To etch, to remember: The work will finally culminate in a publication that practically takes the form of a ‘recipe-book’ or a ‘manual’. Freely available on the internet, we are invested in freeing artistic work, knowledge and ideas from the institutional shackles a.k.a an archive.
Title - The song for peace (Online Live Performance)
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Duration - 03:40 minutes
"The Song for Peace '' calls for a world without borders, religions, or possessions, envisioning a peaceful coexistence. The meditation bowl song's message is powerful and continues to inspire generations to strive for peace and unity. And here, I perform in nature, with a meditation bowl just to see how we can live with nature with harmony. Creating a piece that harmonizes nature with the human experience can evoke a sense of interconnectedness and unity. Through the performance I want to depict a picture of the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature, highlighting the need for understanding, respect, and preservation. Imagery of the elements - earth, water, air, and fire are intertwined with human emotions and actions could be quite impactful. Musically, incorporating natural sounds like flowing water, rustling leaves, or bird songs into the melody further emphasizes on the theme of unity between humanity and the environment.
Title - There's an Ocean Inside of Me (Offline Live performance)
Duration - 1 hour
"There's an Ocean Inside of Me" serves as a metaphor for the vast and complex ecosystem of my queer identity. Just as the ocean contains a multitude of life forms, each with its own unique essence and interconnectedness, my queer ecology encompasses diverse experiences, emotions, and relationships.
Within this internal ocean, there exists a rich tapestry of fluidity, resilience, and interconnectedness, reflecting the dynamic nature of queer existence. Like the ebb and flow of the tides, my identity shifts and evolves, embracing the spectrum of gender, sexuality, and expression. Through this metaphor, I invite exploration and reverence for the depths of my queer ecology, celebrating the beauty and complexity of my inner seascape.
Title - Surveillance (Online Live Performance)
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Duration - 12:10 minutes
We live together in different format from different area. Where sound, space involve us continuously. How we live together? What types of sequence we saw in different way. Lots question answer in our surrounding. I am working with a subject name ‘Issue”. We live with issues. Some issues political some issue economical. Socio political aspect came to my work. In my performance I use a white cloth and an iron border fence piece. I perform with this structure. i want to adopt with this. Some form created. Some will vanish.
Title - Evocation (Offline Live Performance)
Duration - 1 hour
When I got to Aldona, Goa, it was nighttime, and everything was dark. The city felt calm and peaceful. I started working in a place where artists from around the world lived together. We became good friends, sharing our stories and creating a special connection. In this amazing place, our mentor, Nikhil Chopra, encouraged me to use my studio freely. Every morning, a gentle breeze made me feel calm and connected. So, I decided to think about memories and feelings and use them in my art. I expressed myself in three ways: through performances, sculptures, and a visual journal. I made sculptures with handmade paper, and it reminded me of my childhood emotions. The sculptures had a pink background, which reminded me of sweet memories, like cotton candy in Bangla, called "HAWaiMithai."In my performance, I used green paper that moved with my breath and the wind. Inspired by lanterns in the local market, I performed on streets and old buildings, showing my inner energy to everyone. The third part was a visual journal with daily drawings. I wanted people to feel and think in a poetic way when they looked at it. Aldona became more than just a place to work; it became a space where I discovered the essence of who I am.
Title - inbetween (Online Live Performance)
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Duration - 16:04 minutes
We’ve all been feeling a bit guilty for not getting as invested in the project as we’d wish to. It’s never by lack of interest, we’re pretty stoked every time we manage to get together. It’s rather that day to day life always catches up. We’re good together. It’s fun and all. What happens in between those times when we meet ? How do we keep that fire going when we split ? The people you’re watching chose five poses out of drawings. Ordinary poses. Inspired by people on TV, people on the streets. They were then invited to mimic each pose, switching from one to the next. What happens during those transitions ? How do you get from here to there ? How do we fill the gaps ? What’s going on in between ?
“Yeah, how do I get from that pose to this pose ? How do I move ? Slow ? A bit faster ? Am I too self aware ? Do I put up a show or do I keep it solemn, looking self absorbed and all ? Does that really look as elegant as I picture it in my mind ? Poetic. How do I make it poetic ?
Can it look poetic ? Can something really “look” poetic ? Am I overthinking all this ? How about I slip a robot dance out of nowhere. Or would that be too cliché ? Yeah… That would probably be too cliché (it would be funny though).”
Title - The barter spot (Live Streaming Performance)
Duration - An evening
We have been toying with the idea of an art gallery that doesn’t have any monetary transaction involved. We’d go on finding a few supportive artists to donate art so we have something to start with. Then the exhibition evolves and self-curates itself depending on who takes some art and leaves something of their own instead. Our role is only to welcome people, put a couch somewhere in the mix to have nice chats, add beer, add coffee, and see what happens. In theory it could go on and on, in a self-curating process. People coming in, taking something, and placing something instead. It would be nice to keep a rudimentary register of who took and left what, and maybe add a few written lines about or from those people. Our proposition for the date of the event is a twist on the aforementioned idea. We’ll be sending some stuff that will constitute what’s to be shown and traded at the event. All sorts of stuff. Stuff on USB-sticks, stuff we made, stuff friends made, stuff we love, stuff we’d recommend. And you would be in charge of a galerie/market where the visitors could take something in the exhibition and place something instead. Something that someone might leave with later.
Title - Who owns the space? (Online Live Performance)
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Duration - 08:07 minutes
Living together, always sounds about living with fellow human beings. Yes that is important. Living in harmony, giving space for others, accepting the differences. Our instinct to dominate over others always tries to find ways to be “superior”. We tend to forget we have to live together with the nature and other things that exists in our nature. The ancient “sangam literature” describes how human nature mingled with the surrounding and existed as a complete “whole”. Our journey of materialist development takes place at the expense of nature. We use nature, pollute it and destroy it to achieve our development goals. Where are we now? The same nature and our own makings are threatening our existence.
Title - Peace (Offline Live Performance)
Duration - 20 minutes
Power is the cardinal attribute of any dominant group. The ultimate power of a dominant group rests in the ability to use violence against the opponents. A government can only exists as long as it has the power to control the forces. A government is entitled to use violence against its opponents or dissidents. The use of violence is legitimized through the legislature it controls. The opponents of this dominance are militarily shamed and reduced to nothing. Camouflage is a symbol of military power which is at the disposal of a government. Governments make peace with opponents through its military power.
Title - Rhythm in the air (Online Live Performance)
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Duration - 31:04 minutes
‘Rhythm in the Air’ is a performance presentation of breathing and exercise following the rhythm in the air. This performance is a part of artist’s work-series entitled ‘শক্তি চক্র’ (Shokti Chokro) ‘Circle of Energy’, primarily focuses on studying and practicing the process of activation of supreme energy circles within the physical body, where artist uses certain physical actions, chanting, music and voices. In the performance, artist has worked on recreating a pattern of sound in collaboration with Flute.
Air, one of the five elements (Panchavuta) been used in representational ways as the key to the performance, as like as the basic requirement in a human body. A certain level of control on the elements is the key to run the super-technology within the physical body. These Performances are the practice of building a connection to the active energy entities around by investigating with outer materials.
(Offline Live Performance)
Title - Slow Burn Riyaaz (Online Live Performance)
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Duration - 06:49 minutes
The insects are gone. The ice caps are melting and the oceans are hot.
LISTEN LOUD
The virtual window of "How to Live Together?" has been used as an opportunity to explore a nuanced concept of "Slow Burn." Staged as a morning riyaas, the performance features the emaciated dragging of two microphones across a tiled surface, creating a noisy texture that slowly reverberates and folds unto itself. This seemingly trivial act signifies parallel unique signals or ideologies that coalesce into an intense nothingness.
A reminder that coexistence is akin to slow burn, a process that requires patience, dedication, and a willingness to listen to and learn from others.
Title - Autopoiesis (Offline Live Performance)
Duration - 90 minutes
The performance act is profoundly planted in the composer's personal encounter with the reawakening of nature during the pandemic. The absence of human traffic and noise permitted the orchestra of pressure, insects & amphibians to exist after many one decades of exponential suburban development. This overpowering experience inspired the creation of a hyper-real soundscape that transcends mere imitation and delves into the realm of surrealism. The performer's intention is not to directly reproduce the natural sounds but to resonate its essence upon the subconscious. The act confronts our anthropocentric view of nature with the aesthetics of humility and insignificance to remind us of our interconnectedness.
Limitations: Accessibility.
The performance could not be attended by people who were sensitive to light and strobing.