M HKA Ensembles

Film, 28'20".

Collection: Courtesy of the artist.

The film goes behind the scene to locate the multiple narratives and impulses that form the impetus for the public installation by the renowned artist Vivan Sundaram at the Victoria Memorial Museum in Calcutta in 1998. Titled 'Journey towards Freedom: Modern Bengal' the installation presents Bengal's history from mid 19th century under colonial rule to Independence in 1947. Mixing a number of diverse styles, some contrived and others real, and many kinds of voices, visuals, footage from cinema, excerpts from theatre, readings from poems, archival photographs, and music, the film resonates the diverse and complex shapes and spaces that the public art event had created. Brilliantly shot and edited, the film is directed by the artist himself and presents a window into the complex world of conceptualizing, creating and presenting a public art event.