The Whistle...

Single Channel Video/ 9 Minutes/South Korea /2011

National Museum of Contemporary Art, South Korea.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two

worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.

-from 'Only Breath' by Rumi

A whistle is a sound created by our breath. Our breath does not have any border or word. It makes a kind of sound. Our breath can create some melodies that are made in our memory. These whistles are proving that we are alive here. Here, word or color, gender or job does not matter. We are one human being, an important part of the universe. The sound that comes from our lovely breath is our lovely universal whistle.

I collected various whistles from immigrant people in Korea who do different kinds of jobs here; some of them are factory workers, teachers, students, and businessmen. I visited some areas in Korea where these people live. I joined in some dinner, games, and get get-together and asked some of them whether they are interested in giving their favorite whistle of any song or music. From those immigrants, I collected some whistles and videos and recorded them.

I went to different places in Korea where these immigrant people stay, and sometimes I was introduced to them in subways and buses. In the video, they are from China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Cambodia, Japan, the Philippines, and New Zealand. In addition, one of the Koreans who helps immigrant workers is also included. Most of them know Korean as a second language.

Last one minute, this video shows black & white images, where the people are dancing, cooking, and playing Volleyball. In these places, I met lots of unregistered immigrants who are struggling for their livelihood. But they seemed happy; they just acted happy. Some of them frequently shift from one place to another due to many socio-political problems. This video is my imaginative expression where I show some people expressing their memories through whistling. There are lots of things for expressing one's personal feelings and identity, like words, language, flag, border, gender, color, religion, education, economy, population, crime, etc. But breathing is a common organic process that all human beings experience similarly. So I focused this video on this important common organic process through which people can make music and music, an auditory communication that comforts our hearts.

Insignificant People

Standing by Project OOO- 2011 Main Theme: 'Unity in Diversity'- ‘Lyrical Soul’ 

The Collaborative Contemporary Art Project between artists and young people

Workshop schedule: One month from 17 July 2011- 12 August 2011

Exhibition: 18th-27th August 2011 Dukwon Gallery, Seoul, South Korea

Organized By: MIZY Center and Alternative Space Loop, South Korea

Student Group: Yoon So Young, Jung- hyoeun, Yu Dong-Gyun, So Sun Park, Kim Min Young, Oh Soe Young, Lee- hyun Soo, Kim Kyung Min, Choi Do Dum, Gu Hyun Hee

Translator - Chung Park

During the workshop time we were searching for our own poetic life. Sometimes our personal feelings are expressionless and sometimes we don't find the best words for our expression. May be it is an invisible imagination and a hidden expression. This {is it?} is possible express different way, we made some imaginative exercise for express out our poetic life, made some poetic expression which is visible. In the beginning of workshop I shared the students an idea how to make poem together. First I wrote on the paper a line which was on my mind, after translating the line in Korean, it was passed onto each of the students. All of the students one after another read the previous lines and wrote one line from their own thoughts. In this process we made some poems. After creating the poem/s we selected some poems for making some creative activities like Installations, Performances. Illustrations, Image making etc... I shared the students some of my experiences for inspiration and generating the idea. Then we negotiated which option preferable and which was new for them and interesting. After negotiating, the students got an idea which poem more suitable for the media like one of poem Installation made by acrylic sheet and painting, another one Performance on the public space, other one made physical actions photograph which we feel and made book illustrations made by founding objects independently.

I gave them the chance to make our group’s title using Korean Words. Our Name created by using words from our project as ‘Si’ which means Poem in Korean, and also the ‘Si’ That comes from my name. What we came up with was ‘Insignificant /Uninteresting(시시한 사람들) People’. So our group name means “Uninteresting people” who are prepared to present something interesting….. “Insignificant People who are prepared to present something significant”.

(Image Installation Of Performative action)

Lot of stone before us

우리 앞의 장애물들

걸림돌이 아니라 디딤돌로 만들고 싶다

하나하나 건너갈 때마다 성장하게끔

장애물 앞에서 좌절은 그만하고 싶다

우리들은 걸림돌을 디딤돌로 만들 수 있는 힘이 있다

우리는 아직 어리니까

훗날 그 장애물에게 감사할 수 있을 것이다

그만큼 성장할테니

그만큼 감사하리라

Lot of stone before us

not an abstacle but a step stone

to make us grow up when we cross the each one

no more breakdown in front of obstacle

we have a power to make the abstacle into a step stone

because we are still young

we will be able to appreciate the abstacles in the future

we will grow up that much

we will appreciate that much

(Installation: Mixed Media)

Hearing a good sound

마음에 드는 (좋은) 소리를 듣는다

저절로 머릿 속에 음표가 그려진다

저번에 들었을땐 미리 좋은 소리로 느껴지진 않았는데

점점 몸이 리듬을 맞춰간다

또 그 리듬은 우리는 함께한다

신명나게 춤을 춘다

그 음악과 우리는 하나가 된다 춤을 통해서

그 음악을 진정으로 같이 느끼고 싶다

같이 느끼고 서로 나누면 더 좋겠다

좋아하는 음악 알려주세요

기분을 좋게 하는 신나는 리듬이 있는 음악!

Hearing a good sound

spontaneously drawing notes in my head

it did not feel this nice last time i heard

the body is adjusting to the rhythm more

and the rhythm is with us

dance like deuteronomy

the music and us become together through dance

i want to feel the music truly together

tell me about your favorite musicsharing and feeling it together would be nicer

exciting rhythm music that make us feel good !

The sky is blue today

오늘 하늘은 파랗다

오랫만에 보는 파란색이라 반가운 파란색이다

푸른 하늘을 보니 푸른바다가 떠오른다

바다속은 시원하겠지만 해변은 덥겠지?

바다물이 흐르듯이 마음이 흘러야 소통이 이루어진다

이 바닷물은 너무 잠잠 하다. 해변보다 덥고 조용하다

물결을 요동치게 하기 위해선 돌멩이 하나면 충분할텐데

그냥 다같이 돌멩이 던졌으면...

조만간 누군가 던질듯 하다

다들 그 누군가가 자기는 아니라고 생각한다

(Polaroid film-Video Installation)

 

http://vimeo.com/28294284

‘Insignificant People (시시한 사람들)' from Palash Bhattacharjee on Vimeo.

Street Performance in Hyehwa, Seoul

The sky is blue today

its a nice blue that i havent seen for awhile

looking at this blue sky reminds me a blue sea

the ocean is probably cold but beach must be hot

like the sea flows, mind flow makes the communication

this sea water is too quite, quiter and hotter than the beach

to shake this water all we need is a stone

we all should throw a stone together

soon someone will throw one

but no one thinks its themself to do so

( or everyone thinks its not them to do it )

someone will...



 Book illustration

Book illustration

***Alternative Space LOOP progress all this project that young students around 15~20-year-old work with international & domestic artists in contemporary art scene during one month of vacation with MIZY (Seoul Youth Cultural Exchange Center)which is a space that has made a consignment contract regarding management with the city of Seoul and UNESCO committee in Korea.

drop the matter

Single Channel Video
4 Minutes 50 Seconds 
First Show at Chittagong Festival Art Exhibition,
2011

This video has an urge to be released from matters.



Video Still

I took some of the moments from my childhood memories.

I recorded the video with marbles of different colors and sizes. Here, they are dropping from the upstairs continuously. All marbles continuously dropped one after another and then more  . The Video displayed on the gloomy  and messy stairs of Gallery . I made an audio visual presentation which created an illusion when public climbed the stairs.....

Video
Drop the Matter from Palash Bhattacharjee on Vimeo.

Installation Image from Dhaka Art Summit 2012, Gallery at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Dhaka.

Just a kiss from left hand

Performance

Space: 3rd of February 2011 in Dhaka Art Center (Event of International Performance Art Festival) and 8ht of December 2010 Open Space of Chittagong Institute of Fine Arts ( Event of 3rd Performance Art workshop Open studio day)

Materials: Foam Shave, Shaving Razor , Water, Jug , Towel, Table, After Shave Lotion

Busy two hands, easy to do help some thing. Hi and bye from the hands. Give good manners from hands. Make love with hands. Both hands impotence, just a first kiss from left hand. All the best.

We don,t use left hand to greet and to do something related to manners. We are used to do most of our regular works with our right hand. In the performance, my tool is my left hand. I came before audience, and greeted them "hi" from left hand, then I started to shave my left hand and then sent a flying kiss. At last bade them farewell.

Photographs: 3rd of February 2011 in Dhaka Art Center (Event of International Performance Art Festival)

I have performed the same performance two times. 1st performed 8th of December 2011 in the Open Space of Institute of Fine Arts and 2nd time 3rd of February in Dhaka Art center

Pray for Birds

Site -specific Project,

Open Studio of CRAC INTERNATIONAL ART CAMP 2010- Smaran Matsya-beej Khamar, Rahimpur (adjacent to Dhaka-Kushtia highway), Kushtia, Bangladesh 1st January 2011

In a village of Kustia the International art camp was held in a fish hatchery for the last week of year 2010. In the camp I saw lot of birds come in this area. Then I saw fishermen threw poison on the ponds for cleaning. Again some young people shot birds for celebrating party of 31st night. So the birds got frightened and didn’t come easily before people. I made some structures using bamboo, fence to attract the birds where they can take rest. Here I kept fish, leafs, and other stuff as birds’ foods. I fixed up this installation and people kept foods for birds on this structure even after finishing the camp. Birds came quickly and took food. I expressed my love for the birds through this art work.