Cement Fields artist in residence North Kent, January to April 2019

During this residency, I chose to focus my research on historical and contemporary events of cultural importance for the South Asian communities in Gravesend and Northfleet, England. Collected stories and trajectories were then excavated to unearth multiple layers of connection with historical figures and those of people and cultures in Kochi, Amritsar and New Delhi, India.

Two digital artworks were presented as a collection of Instagram posts by multiple alter egos. Together with links to podcasts and music videos, the feeds explore the multidimensional characteristics of different lines of enquiry pursued throughout the residency period. View here: Volume 1. Volume 2.

This process is used as a way to acknowledge and collate layers of reference, in the form of texts, images and sounds, as responses to the information gathered. The collated materials explore wider connecting themes of activism, race, identity, migration, memory, transgenerational trauma and dispersion of culture.

I used these materials to create a live radio show, mixing oral histories, conversations, field recordings, music and spoken word from texts written during the residency. Unfortunately due to a technical error from the radio station, this live show was not recorded. I plan to recreate a version of the show in an attempt to process the grief and hurt I still feel whenever I think about what is lost.

Commissioned by Cement Fields. Photos and videos by Dipesh Pandya. Photos above by Matthew de Pulford