Biswas' Synapse series (showing in The 80s: Photographing Britain) portray the artist in a performative ritual. Historic images of Hindu and Jain monuments are projected across her body from 35mm slides. For Biswas, the Synapse works suggest a compelling metaphor for ‘the way we recall and reconstruct the past’. They also can be seen to disrupt and complicate notions of identity. Through these images, Biswas explores the idea of 'scaffolding' - a literal and metaphorical framework for building, breaking and repair.
Join Sutapa Biswas and curator Jasmine Chohan for a conversation exploring Biswas’ practice through the lens of 'scaffolding'. They will speak on practices of disobedience and disruption, unruly politics and Biswas' interest in psychoanalysis.
Sutapa Biswas
Sutapa Biswas (b 1962) is an Indian-born, internationally known British artist who lives and works in London. Biswas came to prominence in the mid-1980’s when immediately following her graduation from the University of Leeds where she studied fine art, art history and the philosophy of science, her iconic undergraduate painting ‘Housewives with Steak-knives’ (1983-85) and video ‘Kali’ (1983-85) were showcased in the landmark ICA, London exhibition ‘The Thin Black Line’ (1985) curated by artist Lubaina Himid. An interdisciplinary artist, in 1992 Biswas held her first solo exhibition ‘Synapse’ at The Photographer’s Gallery, London, following which her ‘Synapse’ series (1987-1992) was nominated for the Deutsche Bank European Photography Award, 1992.
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