They live We sleep, Conflicting Space // Howrah and Sweden, an Art Project by Anupam Saikia

"They live we sleep" A video installation under Conflicting space.
venue: Howrah and Sweden. Date: 21 April to 30 April 2017.

Conflicting space is a project under Srinagar Biennale where rather than public art project this exchange is about making a visual narrative between two different conflicting spaces. Both the spaces “Howrah and Sweden” in one hand carrying a potential living historical memory, on the other hand also has the hidden possibilities of contradiction. In this Art project the artist from India and Sweden are trying to question and explore the area of hidden possibilities through their different kind of medium. The exchange and the collaborating with two curator one is from Sweden Tamara de Laval and Chi muk from India starts with a dialogue between the artist which is more about idea of space, intimacy, bonding, struggle, body, labor and contradiction of nature and culture. Also the artists are trying to evolve the possibilities of conflict between visible and invisible line where there is always much hidden disturbance and conflict within the space and the space become the boisterous silence.

Video still from "They live we sleep" 
Here the idea of this project, collective is very important role in my practice. Because of this reason I like the idea of Conflicting space where this project not limited only to produce an Art product for final display. Though it is important also this project focus on process which can help to share, discuss with each other work and going through a collective approach. Also it helps to Artistic growth where every steps going through research based.


Video still from "They live we sleep"

During this project my question is that how to executed multidisciplinary work. Space and context has important role of my work which are very fragmented. Basically I am talking about site specific installation as well as live performances. Meanwhile those works are very fragile / temporary and on the other hand the Art performances have the same quality like work has finished when you ended your performances. Perhaps we took pictures / video as documentation and showing it somewhere. Indeed, there is always one question that how to documented this kind of works? I did the same things like I took photographs and moving clips. If I represent this documentation in front of viewer what should be the format. I believe that representation should carry the essence or mood of the work. Sometimes I used sound in my installation and my performances which were recorded from nature and from different objects. I want to juxtaposed those materials like sound, photographs and moving clips embodied some drawing transformed in many small clip of stop motion animation. Those clips display in a digital devices and install it in space which is selected according to the concept. This works are initially worked in performance and site specific which is work later in digital format.


process of the display at Shibpur, Howrah

I am working in a video format with some of my performance juxtaposed with moving clips. This project residue was not to display in white cube format, so I chose an active iron factory near Shibpur, Howrah to install the video. Firstly the factory owner doesn’t want to agree with our idea of the display because they afraid of disturb by our work and finally agreed with us.  During the conversation they always question us about what it is? Why it is here? What we will do after this? and many unpolished question forced to think about the idea of Art and public. Also they were very happy to communicate with us as well as the viewer for the space, even later period of the display they were able to talk about the project with the viewer. Even they wish to provide that space for the future. Indeed, the whole idea is not only display an Art in factory; it is about to collaboration with the worker, communication as well as participation in the factory and art itself.
the video is played in a old TV


In that factory there is very old wooden Almirah with a big mirror and the Almirah is used for their tools. My video was played in old TV in front of the mirror. Viewer can see them-self in the mirror. Indeed, I used some text in the mirror (see the image) when viewers were reading the text they can see self images with the video. The space has a sound produces from the welding machine and the worker enhancing my idea and the site specificity. 

the text in the mirror

Here is the text in the mirror “The coexistence of fear and violence in our everyday public, personal and private spaces lead to the regimentation and disciplining of everyday work conditions. As a consequence, the possibility of workers’ self-control on their work in the area of knowledge production as well as scope of developing of anti-hegemonic subjectivity constantly faces a threat. The ‘thoughtpolice’ keeps us under the invisible surveillance. In my perception these fear and violence fabricated silence in our psyche embodied a frame of isolation. Everybody lives within a frame that’s created by us as well as by social or political structure. There is no way out of this frame.”
as usual day of the factory with the installation

opening day of the "conflicting space"

viewer reading the text on the mirror
public and the work

This project is exchange program between Howrah and Sweden, the video was displayed in a restaurant at Malmo, Sweden. The customer was waiting for the food and they are watching unusual video before the food.
“They live we sleep” is a series of multidisciplinary approaches where trying to explore the frame of isolation where subconscious uncertainty hidden within it. In this project I experiment in video where juxtaposed images in different manner with moving clip.
  

Video install in a restaurant at Malmo, Sweden.










By Anupam Saikia, Anga Art collective, Assam

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