Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Once upon a playtime

Single Channel Video, 3 Minutes 4 Seconds, 2012, Chittagong.


This video is one of my childhood memory. I made some sound effect of vehicles. I used my voice with some kids.  The video starts with the sound of vehicles and smoke on the toys. The sound continues, some drop of water fall and then the toys crashed on an unknown way.

Once upon a playtime from Palash Bhattacharjee on Vimeo.

The art exhibition titled “Path!”, a tribute to Bangladeshi independent film director Tareque Masud, cinematographer-journalist Mishuk Munier and  their team Wasim, Jamal, Mustafiz  who died in a road accident near Ghior Upazila on 13 August 2011 while returning to Dhaka from Manikhanj on the Dhaka-Aricha highway after visiting a shooting location.  Path!(পথ!) is a Bengali word which English meaning 'The Way!'.


An Essay



2012
Installation
July 12-16, 2012
Bishuad Bangla, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Photo print, Nets, Clips, Sting, High Pressure Sodium Light

This is an essay, a visual essay of my present condition. Here I followed my everyday living and tried to look myself . I ran after myself .Taking some other elements from my place and time I introduced some of my unexpressed views. -This is my offer.
 
 

 Installation Images

I followed myself on my recent everyday life activities with the camera. All the photos are taken by my self during the working time. Every photo has shown my face or parts of my body.  Most of the times I used mobile camera. Then I selected approximately 500/ 600 photos ( sometimes changed during the show) and  made small size like  7cmX9cm for installation.   I printed the photos on photo papers and then I attached the all the photos with net which is installed surrounding the whole gallery room. I used a sodium light with the gallery arrangements. 



   

 







Sample of the photos

Monday, September 10, 2012

Halt

Single Channel Video,
First Show
July 12, 2012, Bishaud Bangla, Chittagong

 http://vimeo.com/52981391
  Halt from Palash Bhattacharjee on Vimeo.

Some unexplainable sudden happenings can make a chaos before I see or understand about those. Memories become blur. The obscurity is a kind of consequence. In this way, I am going on where I feel risk in my every step and then the bitterness of stumbling. The short video translated from my own personal experiences about nightmare and wakefulness. I recorded my face tumbling on mud and its sound. I recorded this with a bleak light.


Video Still

Friday, June 1, 2012

HORN !

Show at Open space of Cheragi Lane, Chittagong
May, 2012. Video Installation and Performance


In our everyday life, we are sometimes warned, sometimes conscious, or sometimes embarrassed by the harsh sound of vehicles’ horn. I have adjusted the horn of the vehicles in a dress through sensor and battery. When someone move wearing this dress and if he comes closer to other person or thing, the bell will ring.I documented a video  where some young men  wore the shirt  to perform on some area. Then I installed the video and dress on the open space  at show. The people who felt  interest about the dress after knowing the activities of it, they performed wearing the dress.
This activities mainly dedicated to the Mirsarai tragedy of Chittagong where the student killed by road accident.

Horn! from Palash Bhattacharjee on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Road


Performance
The 4th PAN Asia
Performance Art Network Asia 2011
Seoul Art Space_Mullae, South Korea
October 18, 2011
Supported by
Arts Council Korea, Seoul Foundation for Arts & Culture, Seoul Art Space_Mullae, Youngdeungpo-gu

I performed at two different venues: one was at Seoul Mullae Hall and the other was at Gowanju Museum of Art in South Korea. These performances are a reflection of my reaction to the unexpected events in lives. That reaction is about the sudden death and accident of my friends, relatives, and well-wishers.

Seoul Art Space_Mullae
October 18, 2011,
Materials: Shaving cream, Razor, Flowers, Toys Car, Bag.








 I sprayed some shaving cream on the floor. Then I took shaving cream from the floor with a razor and rubbed the shaving cream on my face. Then I placed some toy cars on the floor covered with shaving cream. I broke the cars one after another. Then I kept some flowers in that place. I hold a bouquet on my chest for a few minutes. I used some sound effects recorded from street for the performance





Gwangju Museum of Art
October 22, 2011
Materials: Flowers, Toys( Snow and Flutes), Colorful Ropes

http://vimeo.com/73214877
The Road from Palash Bhattacharjee on Vimeo.

 I used some colorful ropes. I attached these ropes decorated with flowers, and a Flute (Korean called ‘Piri’, this kind of flute), and gave the audience one end of the rope and some ‘Piri’. I played a ‘Piri’, and the audience played with me that create a sound effect. I walked playing the ‘Piri’ and kept flowers after some steps. At last, I stopped playing and broke ‘Piri’, and then I sprayed snow all over the place.




Saturday, October 15, 2011

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.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

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.



Saturday, June 18, 2011

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.


Friday, February 18, 2011

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







Tuesday, January 25, 2011

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.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Special Memory Service



Seoksu Art Project2010, South Korea
Installation and Performance with local citizen
Performance Location: Seoksu Market, Anyang First Street,Anyang River Area,Anyang Art Park
September 2010






Here in the streets of Manan-gu, vendors sell vegetables, fruits and other commodities from the back of small trucks. As they slowly drive around these streets they announce their wares and deals from crackly loud hailers, literally drumming up business with pre-recorded and looped calls. But if those trucks instead of playing music, what if they announce dreams or recite some memorable event? How would that be?

This is the special Truck of The Special Memory Service for these special days.People of Manan-gu who want to share their happy or funny memorable moments and melodies can send to the heavens on these special days. Anything is Welcome - joks, songs, poetry and story telling , whatever you like. Like other people, I also use this truck bear my memories and imagination; the microphone of this truck broadcasts my voice and melodies.

Houses, villages and cities can be demolished but memories, dreams and music can't be wiped out so easily. The Truck will be around in Manan with a purpose of freely sharing our thoughts. I will give everyone this chance to become a street vendors. What do you think?


I transformed the vendor’s truck for a Public performance / communication.
I made a couple of paintings (Each size 288cm×202cm) using forms and techniques that I adopted from Bangladeshi Rickshaw Paintings. A rickshaw is a three wheeled vehicle used for transportation. I used enamel paint and plastic surface which is waterproof. I also wrote ”Manan haseyo!?” on the image in my own language of Bengali. SAP team me wrote “Manan Haseyo!?” in Korean text. These paintings were installed on a structure on the truck and a sound system was also installed (speaker, microphone, and sound recorder).
The whole installation on the truck was difficult for me because this truck is used for transportation purposes and different kinds of jobs and activities. This truck is very important to every artist. The truck was only available a few times to do my work. So I got help from the SAP team helped me with the truck installation and making the structure. On the back of the truck I used a text to invite people to participate in the event. The following text was used:

“
저는 석수아트프로젝트에 참여하고 있는
방글라데시 예술가 '파라시' 입니다..만안구민 여러분!여러분의 행복과 추억을 나눠주세요!기억나는 시나 노래를 나눠주세요!그림이나 아름다운 말을 나눠주세요!”

(“I am Palash, an artist from Bangladesh
Welcome to Mannan People
Please let’s share your happy memories!
Please let’s share song you remember!
Please let’s share picture or a message! ")


1st experimental event happened on 1st of September starting at 5pm around the Seoksu Market.
When the truck was moving I broadcast my voice and music on the microphone.
And I was trying to broadcast the following Korean sentences like the vendors.

“만안구민 여러분!여러분의 행복과 추억을 나눠주세요!기억나는 시나 노래를 나눠주세요!그림이나 아름다운 말을 나눠주세요!”

("Welcome to Mannan People
Please let’s share your happy memories!
Please let’s share song you remember!
Please let’s share picture or a message! ")

I invited whoever was interested to write their message on the canvas. But there were other options to share their memories, like singing songs, telling stories, making jokes, writing messages or describing images. Every thing was open.

Most people preferred to write something.
3rd September. On open studio day the truck was only broadcasting my voice and music.
4th September at 4pm: The truck was broadcasting from Seoksu Market to Anyang, near Gwanak station, Anyang First Street and under the Anyang river bridge. The volunteer drove the truck and helped me to invite people.

Anyang First Street is a very busy location .Only a few people responded to me. Some people were angry so I left early and I went to some locations on the way to Gwanak Station. Here some old women were gossiping and playing. They were surprised. Some of them were laughing when they heard the funny voice in strange Korean.
Then I went under the Anyang Bridge. Here I got a lot of peoples responses. People of different ages wrote on the canvas. Some children expressed their feelings by drawing pictures on the canvases.

The last performance happened on the 11th of September. This day I went to Anyang Art park. It was a rainy day. The volunteer drove the truck and helped me to invite people. Here a lot of people enjoyed my project. They wrote on my canvas. Some writing was overlapping. And some writing destroyed because rain water dropped onto the canvas. When the rain stopped people came willingly. The volunteers helped me to invite people.
I wanted to present a surprising transformation. People know about the vendor’s kind of truck. I tried to transform the vendor’s style of broadcasting. I was using music and my voice to invite people. Vendors sell different kinds of good which people need and choose. Vendors are working all day and some goods sell and some don’t. I created also different kinds of options like telling stories, image sharing, singing, writing or whatever they wanted. I went out sometimes for one or two hours. And some people accepted the various options but some didn’t. It’s okay for me. I did not want to pressure the people. In total my activities made a memorable event. I saw that when the decorated truck was moving and broadcasting people looked like they were curious. Some people were laughing when they heard my voice through the microphone. A lot of local people knew me because of these activities.

I collected some of the statements of people who wrote on my canvases. These were translated by Soyoung Hyun. The canvases have more statements. But I didn’t have much time to wait for translation. I got some of the following comments.

1. Developing Anyang
2. You should come to Anyang
3. Lets make a happy and clean MaAngu
4. Lets be good friend forever to sunyoung
5. Go for ManAn gu
6. To Haejung I hope you will give birth of a beautiful baby
7. To enjoy you should practice hard playing Guitar
8. Bravo
9. Nature is Art Park
10. I love you, okey!
11. To citizen of Manan, I hope Manangu will be well developed and my daughter is preparing for get admission to University and I hope she can go to University.


Special Thanks
Mr. Chaneung Park, Sangjo Lee, Tetsuro Kano,  Yoon Ji Lee, Soyoung Hyun
Ibai Hernandorena, Gabriele Horndasch,