MUMBAI
Bani Abidi’s video installation highlights the angst caused by visa applications.
At Project 88, the art gallery in Colaba, the white-walled room lies empty except for a projector screen in the centre, on which a video loops all day.
The 12-minute video titled the distance from here, is the centrepiece of the exhibition titled Section Yellow. Bani Abidi,the artist behind the piece, is a renowned Pakistani artist who represents social issues in a contemporary light.
The video is set in a recreated legal documentation centre, and it highlights the psychological trauma suffered by people who queue up in seemingly endless lines while applying for a visa. Through multiple frames and gestures portrayed by the people in the room, Abidi builds up an anatomy of preparation, anxiety and patience.
The entire video is a play on coercion, using migration as metaphor.
“It’s one of those situations where people’s time is controlled by others. The applicants have no means of retaliation; all they can do is keep waiting,” says Abidi, who has herself faced the same situation ample number of times while travelling across borders.
Mumbai reminds the artist of her hometown Karachi. “Both cities are so similar, they even smell the same. It’s a very comfortable space for me,” she confesses.
The video doesn’t carry any dialogues. The visual element which stands out is the yellow lines within which the applicants are ‘imprisoned’. Abidi reveals, “I wanted to get white metal barriers but that didn’t work out. So instead, we decided to paint yellow lines on the floor, and I realised then that these lines were more significant.”
If yellow lines are one of the prime features in focus, the other is a board pinned up with ready-made ties. In one particular frame, a man is looking at himself in the mirror and adjusting his tie right before he submits his application. “I’m trying to convey a mixed bag of emotions like nervousness and anxiety that one goes through right before the process,” says Abidi.
The artist’s primary inspiration is the bureaucratic hell one faces during cross-border travels. Within this theme, Abidi explores notions regarding spaces, objects and situations which exert control over societies.
The current exhibition showcases Abidi’s photography which is related to the video. One of those is called Untitled and One of Two, featuring a stack of files lying in a mess, waiting to be cleared.
The exhibition is on until October 11 at Project 88, Colaba. The gallery is open on Mondays from 2pm to 7pm, and from Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 11am to 7pm. Sundays closed. Connect: Call 2281 0066
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