Critical Writing Index

The idea of a village

by Oliver Husain

Monitor 4, 2008

Monitor 4, SAVAC's fourth annual screening of contemporary South Asian film and video offers a curated glimpse into the vast amount of work being created by South Asian artists internationally.

"The village has been left behind. It doesn't play a big role in official culture and economic decisions. The village which progress has forgotten is pushed out to the margins. Yet, the fictitious idea of a small, idyllic community is very much present in urban centres- in minds, dreams, flights and films. To draw a line and to try to define the connecting qualities of contemporary short films and videos made by South Asian artists is of course, just as impossible as Ferwa Ibrahim's attempt to pun down her shadow in Untitled. Like a choreography of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the moment to be recorded is constantly changing through the presence of the artist."

ITEM 2008.175 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

KramashaAmit Dutta

Tales from the MarginsKavita Joshi

Majidee`Azharr Rudin

PaintSaba Khan

SkinDebashis Sinha