Screening and Discussion | Concrete, Alserkal Avenue
Wednesday 7 March, 7:00 pm
As part of the public programme for Ishara, guest artists Ramin, Rokni and Hesam will be in conversation with exhibition curator Karim Sultan to discuss ideas of communication, language and storytelling. This dialogue will explore the references accumulated by the artists, tracing their influences that relate to the theme of language and sign-making.
The screening will focus on Aakkaandi (2014-15) a 35 minute 17 second long video that depicts a pig-faced tourist-curator clutching a tote bag visit a tailoring shop to get a new dress copied. A doctor and his violently shushing nurse administer everything from injections to dental reconstruction. Improvised with Idrani Sirisena and Edward St, who live and work at the villa that the artists share, these short, simple vignettes are interspersed with the couple's recollection of the Sri Lankan Civil War and the political machinations that stoked the conflict. The work culminates in a collaboratively painted canvas that they steadily layer with Tamil lettering. Several sections of Aakkaandi were filmed by Edward St and many of the images in the film are inspired by the works of exiled Tamil poets, particularly 'The Aakkaandi Bird' by Shanmugam Sivalingan and '21 May 1986' by R Cheran.