Our friends at Talwar Gallery are going to be showing a new film by UK-based artist Alia Syed next month.
bq. US premiere of Eating Grass, a new film work by Alia Syed. This exhibition will open to the public on Friday, January 9, and will be on view through Feb 24. There will be an opening reception with the artist on Friday January 9 from 6-8 pm.
bq. Eating Grass is a poetic and compelling new work from Alia Syed. Filmed in Lahore, Karachi and London and encompassing five stories relating to the times of day for Muslim prayer, the work explores overlaps between time, memory and location. The title of the work is a reference to a quote made by President Bhutto of Pakistan in 1974, who in response to India exploding a nuclear device promised the Pakistani people that they too would have their own nuclear weapon at all costs, even if it meant “Eating Grass”.
bq. Moving through daily rituals inside the walls of a haveli in Pakistan to those of life outside, the film encapsulates the passage of time through the changing emotional tones of urban metropolitan rhythms. As the bustle of modern life outside parallels, and slowly transcends the changing nature of the day’s light, so Ms.Syed suggests it is possible for the spirit within to sublimate. The surreal nature of Syed’s work is accentuated by the accompanying voiceover in Urdu and English; its textural and out-of- sync pattern conveys meaning while at the same time building a rhythm of tonal cadences similar to structures found in Indian classical music or jazz.
I had a chance to see some of Alia’s earlier works last year at the Talwar Gallery and I am sure if you are in New York, you will get a chance to see this new film as well. You can get more details here