Statement

Mumbai+Bombay is an immersive multimedia experience that explores the conflicted and fragmented city of Mumbai with the use of shadows and light. A surreal landscape of an imagined Mumbai parts to reveal a hidden city of violence and disparity; a dystopian elsewhere that is inspired by the recent history of terrorist attacks and growing inequality within the metropolis.

Research Methods: Phase 1

We’ve had several inputs on practice as research, however Dr. Sally Mackey’s lecture helped clarify my ideas on the topic. Besides talking at length about the praxis between theory, reflection, action and practice she also mentioned creating a laboratory; an ideal set-up that would help answer and clarify the key questions of the research. The lab I have created is an installation space that allows the audience to interact with the work and each other. By continually experimenting in this interactive space I am able to clarify my key questions and focus my research topic further.

Elsewhere Places

Screenshots from the movie Mein Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, which takes place in a fantasy location called SundarNagar, which literally means beautiful-place. Bollywood directors frequently use scenes from Switzerland, Scotland and Mauritius to represent an elsewhere or ideal India.

Film Locations for Main Prem Ki
Film Locations for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Mohobbatein Locations
DDLJ Locations
No Entry Locations

Circle of Confusion

One line from this article grabbed me:  “It is impossible to grasp the city, one can only take a fragment of it.”

[Image Source] | Circle of Confusion by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige | Photographic installation | Mirror, colour digital prints (3,000 pieces), ink inscriptions.

The work resonates with the aim of my project, as it seeks to represent the city of Beirut: how it’s various and poorly documented conflicts have cut it into pieces, making it impossible to make a “true” picture of it, inviting the user to destroy the city by taking pieces off the board and scattering them, revealing a layer beneath. One of the questions brought up in the article is: “How does the viewer’s participation in this work, by removing and taking possession of a fragment of the city of Beirut, add to the meaning of Circle of Confusion?”

Similarly I can attempt to create a question for my work: How does the viewer’s participation in this work, by revealing the hidden city of Mumbai in the viewer’s shadows, add to the meaning of Mumbai+Bombay?

Peer Critique

We organized a peer critique for the 14th of December to discuss our work. At this point most people are midway through their projects. About 12-15 part-time and full-time MA students attended the workshop. I presented a video and photographs from a recent installation test. Here are some points of reaction to my work:

> Simple, yet effective

> Interactive without the use of very complex technology. Since the user is essential to viewing the artwork.

> Use of technology is secondary to the concept.

> Prefer to see it projected on walls, instead of floor since it’s more natural.

> Want to see more animation: people, events, day changing to night.

> Want to see a more dramatic difference between the two skylines.

> One person interpreted the “real” city as a doomsday city since it contains images of poverty and burning buildings.

> Important to note how most people who view the work generalize it to any city rather that Mumbai, unless specifically told.

> Prefer the rough sketchy version of the city.

> Almost a film.

Overall, I realized how different each person’s work and philosophy was, from Fine Art to Animation finding common ground is not easy since its like each person is from different planets. At the same time it was useful to see how a fine artist or animator would react to my work.
Additionally, various topics such as self-reflexive films, and the “axiomatic” were discussed. I also discovered a piece of work which later became vital to my understanding of my practice. It is called Circle of Confusion by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, 1997. See my notes on this work here.

Bombay Book Cover

I attended a group tutorial that was held for all the Graphic Design MA students on the 13th of Dec. I felt it was important to gain some perspective on my project, since graphic students would have a different point of view when it came to Interactive Media. Peer feedback is always helpful, and I was simply curious about the kind of projects the other MA students were working on. The one-day workshop was moderated by Phil Jones, and involved all of us creating a quick piece of graphic work based on an open-ended brief. We were instructed to find an object or a photograph that had anything to do with our chosen topic, in my case, Mumbai. Since we had just 30 minutes, I ended up with a Time and Life book on Bombay, and chose the cover as my topic of study.

What followed was a group analysis, dissecting the object in terms of semiotics, its source, context, its materials and other relevant factors that give it meaning. After the analysis each person was given a new brief: to convert or transform the object into a graphic work keeping in mind theanalysis and discussion. Each person was given two hours to create a finished piece of graphic work.

During the discussion several people mentioned “dots” as a recurring shape in the cover, as each person was reduced to a dot. Another point was how the photograph transformed many individuals into one large mass of colour. My aim was to reduce the cover to its basic colours and shapes. In one way the poster is a mockery of the original object, as it strips it of meaning. At the same time is still comparable to the original when placed next to the other because of similar shapes, alignment and colours.

Abigail Reynolds

Abigail Reynolds: Layering and tessellation.

(Image Source)

“The Universal Now: Relief sculptures using found photographs of the same place taken at different times.” | Seventeen Gallery.

Reflection: Contemplating possibilities of adding layers to the already existing two layers of light as projections. It is possible that a third city panorama could exist behind the two already conceived, though it would be a print or a painting. It could also be a texture to add another layer of interactivity, that of touch.

Installation test

Testing projector requirements, positioning, overlapping contrasting panorama’s, overlapping video, and effect of shadow on the double projection to reveal the projection beneath it.

Blurred and sharp panorama’s projected on classroom wall.

Shadow on right hand side clarifies and reveals image underneath.

Shadow on left side reveals video of Taj Mahal hotel on fire underneath.

Reflection #1: Shadow city and Light city, the shadow thrown by the user/person reveals the shadow city, the person destroys/distorts the city as they walk across the panorama.

26/11 Attack: Video footage

Documentary footage from the 26/11 attack on mumbai where 9 gunmen left more than 170 people dead over 3 days, and targetted the Taj Mahal hotel, Oberoi, Cafe Leopold (which I still frequent), CST and Cama Hospital. Created by Dan Reed, Terror in Mumbai uses CCTV footage and recorded conversations between the gunmen and their handlers in Pakistan to create a realistic picture of what happened that day.

(Image: BBC Source)

[Video Source: Channel 4, HBO: Dan Reed]

This is an important aspect in creating the cityscape that shall represent the “here” rather than the elsewhere, the reality of what Mumbaikars have to face everyday.

Audience and Staging: Reversal

An experiment in audience and staging, we created a performance which was a play on typical audience and performer roles. Since our presentation was the first after lunch, we used the time given to us (1:30pm) as relevant to the act. Posting a sign declaring we were “Out To Lunch” we proceeded to eat a very formal lunch in the car park several feet away from the classroom window. A few well placed binoculars allowed our classmates to zoom in on the details of the performance, standing on chairs and making space for each other at the window, successfully converting them into voyeurs. On the other hand, we continued with a 20 minute spontaneous performance, despite the snow, drinking wine, being served by our hapless waitress, and enjoying our cross-dressed roles.

Reversal is the main theme here, where we reversed the stage from inside to outside, the audience into voyeurs peeping out of windows, and ourselves cross-dressing to emphasize the concept.

The video below was taken by Tomasz Radeg, someone from the audience (though we didn’t tell them to):

It’s interesting to see how several people from the audience did leave the classroom to have a better look, or even listen to parts of our performance. Since we didn’t leave any instructions, it was up to the audience to behave as they wished. For the purpose of documentation we recorded our performance from a nearby car, giving a completely different point of view to the performance. Edited and compiled by Yves Findling.

Photos by Alina Arefyeva: