Myself
mixed media installation, zine (2018)
With “Myself”, I present my self-evacuation as a process of scientific inquiry, placing it on an archival table. The installation for Embody Power (2018) included journal entries, passport/visa pictures, other photographs personal items and documents. It also encompassed a series of self portraits. As a part of the work, I also produced a zine which also functions as a stand alone piece. It was a 20 page photobook (with writing) of a5 size. A run of 100 zines were initially produced, in black and white laser print done at highly economic costs. They were given away with a suggested donation of Rs. 100/1USD to go towards printing. A small number of these were individualized, to create unique pieces. The name of the project 'Myself' harks back to school essays I write as a child, they were often bland re-statements of societal labels that were applied to me and which came to define me to myself.
Further items have been added to this project with time, though all the elements of this work are yet to be exhibited together. With the zine “b.1985”, I investigated my relationship with my father using photographs of him before I was conceived. A recent video project and work in progress entitled ‘Going Back to Arabia/Desert Dreaming’ investigates transformations in the Muslim community of Sri Lanka as well as broader transformations the country has seen in the age of civil conflict and globalization, in relation to my identity and Sri Lankan Muslim identity politics at large.
The Zine was also printed and distributed by the Intimate Histories Collective in India, starting with the India Art Fair. The Zine, along with publications of 11 other regional artists, was distributed outside the Art Fair space in a guerilla maneuver aimed at subverting an elite artistic discourse.
With “Myself”, I present my self-evacuation as a process of scientific inquiry, placing it on an archival table. The installation for Embody Power (2018) included journal entries, passport/visa pictures, other photographs personal items and documents. It also encompassed a series of self portraits. As a part of the work, I also produced a zine which also functions as a stand alone piece. It was a 20 page photobook (with writing) of a5 size. A run of 100 zines were initially produced, in black and white laser print done at highly economic costs. They were given away with a suggested donation of Rs. 100/1USD to go towards printing. A small number of these were individualized, to create unique pieces. The name of the project 'Myself' harks back to school essays I write as a child, they were often bland re-statements of societal labels that were applied to me and which came to define me to myself.
Further items have been added to this project with time, though all the elements of this work are yet to be exhibited together. With the zine “b.1985”, I investigated my relationship with my father using photographs of him before I was conceived. A recent video project and work in progress entitled ‘Going Back to Arabia/Desert Dreaming’ investigates transformations in the Muslim community of Sri Lanka as well as broader transformations the country has seen in the age of civil conflict and globalization, in relation to my identity and Sri Lankan Muslim identity politics at large.
The Zine was also printed and distributed by the Intimate Histories Collective in India, starting with the India Art Fair. The Zine, along with publications of 11 other regional artists, was distributed outside the Art Fair space in a guerilla maneuver aimed at subverting an elite artistic discourse.
“Myself”/”Half-baked Zine” (2018)
The zine being distributed outside the India Art Fair (2019) in Delhi, by the Intimate Histories Collective