Tripple Effect

On a map,Mumbai,Warsaw and Berlin appear as points marked on two different time zones.

Written by Prabhjot Sohal
October 11, 2010 01:59 AM IST

3 min read

On a map,Mumbai,Warsaw and Berlin appear as points marked on two different time zones. Off the map,the relation between the unusual triangle is significant as the three mega-cities thrive on the same post-industrialisation hope of a promised life. This triggered the Promised City an interdisciplinary project between the cities,which is organised by Polish Institute,Berlin,Goethe-Institute,Warsaw,and Max Mueller Bhavan,Mumbai.

After two years of work and exhibitions in Berlin and Warsaw,the project in its final leg arrives in Mumbai. It traces the life in the metropolises through a series of art and literature projects,which will be displayed across the city till November 17. Marla Stukenberg,director of Max Mueller Bhavan,says,Mumbai had to be part of the project after all it is the fourth largest city in the world.

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As part of the photography project Fortune Seekers,Rebecca Sampson,a German photographer exhibits the peripheries of Bollywood. I came to Mumbai to capture the fringes of Bollywood life the light-men,minor actors and struggling artists. I had never seen a Bollywood movie before,but I knew who Shah Rukh Khan is. I spent six weeks capturing Bollywood fervour,sometimes sneaking on to sets and at times taking up sundry jobs to survive in the city. I even met Amitabh Bachchan as I literally crawled to his feet at an event, says Sampson,who on closer examination can be found posing as receptionist or a tourist in Colaba for some television soaps. Her intercultural experience is precisely what the exhibitions curator Armin Smailovic wanted the project to provide when he flew from Berlin to Mumbai looking for themes and artists in 2009. We aimed at students and young artists,and chose themes they could execute. Since India does not have a special institute for photography,we offered a platform to foster inter-cultural art exchange, he says.

The project also includes Capital of Accumulation,a video art installation by Raqs Media Collective from New Delhi. It will be exhibited at Project 88 gallery from October 20 to November 20. The video is a modern day rendition of Rosa Luxemburgs book The Accumulation of Capital. In the 50-minute,double screen video art,we have captured Berlin,Warsaw and Mumbai in their drive to hoard wealth and build dreams, says Jeebesh Bagchi,who worked on the video art with his partners Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta for over a year.

Promised Cities,a selection of international film on a similar theme,will be also be screened. The literary project,The Trail,required six authors from the three cities to exchange residences and pen memoirs from other cities. German writer Arnold Stadler was on a Mumbai trail,guided by curator Ranjit Hoskote,whereas Polish writer Sylwia Chutnik under the guidance of Kiran Nagarkar found literary refuge in Warsaw. Max Mueller Bhavan will host readings by the writers on November 13.