A bold and intimate exploration of contemporary South Asian identity
Be entirely enveloped in the vivid and sometimes surreal world of acclaimed filmmaker and video artist Naina Sen’s large-scale, conceptual video works.
Created over five years between India and Australia, this sensorial experience deconstructs and reconstructs the idea of the Indian feminine through stylised, futurist metaphorical reimaginings of Indian feminist mythology, contemporary cultural and ritualistic practices and personal storytelling.
Accompanied by a layered soundscape of field recordings, women’s songs, spoken word and a textural score, সুন্দরী / SHUNDORI is a multi-projection, multi-channel, multi-lingualvideo installation that turns the walls of the gallery into an immersive portal.
A long term collaborative work between the artist and over 500 womxn across India and the Indian diaspora in Australia, সুন্দরী / SHUNDORI is Naina Sen’s first major exhibition of video works.
The exhibition is accompanied by a range of public programming. Find out more here.
Presented by Darwin Festival and Qubit Gallery
Credits
- Lead Artist, Director, Cinematographer, Editor Naina Sen
- Featured Performance Artists and Co-Collaborators
- Apurva Mahire
- Anoushka David
- Ayesha Sen
- Devika Bilimoria
- Jyotsna Siddharth
- Kavina Gomes
- Pushpa Kumari
- Rayyan Shaikh
- Raina Peterson
- Dr. Rakini Devi
- R. Jayaraja
- Shinjita Roy
- Deepest thanks to the hundreds of womxn across India and Australia who have participated in the video portrait work made over the last five years.
- Sound Designer and Composer Aarti Jadu
- Vocalists
- Lachhu Ben
- Laxmi Babu Velip, Sulaksha Shabu Velip
- Postubala Debi Karmakar
- Sanghamitra Das
- Peidade Fernandes
- Blazia Fernandes, Fatima Fernandes, Rozalina Carvachlo, Lorcina Olivera
- Preeti Nagarajan
- Santal Women’s Folk Troupe, Shantiniketan
- Bint-e-Hawwa by Hina Rizvi Haider, Recitation by Zeenat Kulavoor
- Sitar Kabita Ghosh
- Sarangi Balvinder Singh
- Sound Mixer Guy Louis Faletolu
- Chhau Mask Maker Adarsha Mukhos
- Production Assistants
- Poornima Sukumar
- Devidas Gaonkar
- Shinjita Roy
- Installation Team
- Projection mapping, installation and technical supervisor – Lukas Bendel
- Fabric installation – Elizabeth Martin
- Soundscape installation – Matthew Cunliffe
সুন্দরী /SHUNDORI has been developed with the generous assistance of the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, the Centre For Australia India Relations, the Northern Territory Government through Arts NT and Brown’s Mart Build Up Program.
This project was made possible by the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund and is supported by the Australian Government's Arts and Cultural Development Program, Regional Arts Australia and Regional Arts NT
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