The water colour paintings in this video are made as an ode to the painted backdrops used in early Indian cinema and then woven together by the artist to create a narrative on Indian urbanism. Part of a collaborative exhibition that traced cinema history in the city of Bombay, this video is also a commentary on the story of migration; of changing landscapes and the cultural identities that change due to migration. With every spatial disturbance across a temporal plane, the politics of adjustment are negotiated. Be it how the 19th century port city of British India – Bombay – becomes the financial nerve center of contemporary India – Mumbai. Be it the hand drawn transmutations of symbols of migratory movement across the globe – birds and wings or the more modern amenities of travel – cycles, airplanes and cars, they all fuse together in this pictorial story of movement.
It takes you through the 20th century and enters 21st century with the notion of a future still rooted in its past – colonial, historical and traditional. This tension of trade and migration changing the identity of metropolitan cities across the world, is beautifully depicted through references of art history, cinematic history and peoples' history. Hande's 'glocal' understanding of a borderless world society and plea for an environment not matching its fast pace, is evidenced in this video art with references of Hande's passionate travels across India and the world.
