My art is a direct confrontation to the immiscibility of technology and human interest. The annoying noise — “annoisiness” as I like to call it serves as an assault to the senses of a human observer and is meant to invoke that particular feeling that technology just like culture is not our friend. The monolithic appearance of my installation is there to invoke a humble reminder of that. I take a lot of inspiration from Ryoji Ikeda. You can see parts of my work has the likeness of Ikedan techno-dystopian themes. I also like to incorporate Nam June Paik’s visionary ideas into my art as well — the way technology organically matures through feedback loops within the elements of media, entertainment and communication is deeply embedded in my art as well.
This mixed media manifestation is an audio-visual experience consisting of seven cathode ray tubes (CRTs) that have been stripped of their covers to expose the insides; one of which that is malfunctioned hanging diagonally while the other six are working. The CRTs are mounted in a wire frame that is above 16 ft high and is inspired from polyhedral shapes reminding us of structure and form. The screens show an extension of my previous work dubbed Wire Formation in which I create a record of the visual clutter that occurs due to the entanglement of wires and represents the chaotic reality of Dhaka city. Wires have been an element which is the most common phenomenon that is in abundant to the visual consumption in the city. The installation consists of inorganic and nonfunctional noises that actually do not mind and matter but are continuously competing against each other to gain attention from people nearby — a sample of the soundscape in which the average city dweller is immersed in unconsciously.
It was built from the confrontation of wires and structure in the streets of dhaka which are a representation of the current timeline. The unprecedented growth of a city's infrastructure was transformed with metal structure which holds and subtends the information of techno-centric advancement and it's scenario.
The most exceptional challenge was to insulate the CRT-monitor with the metal rod for not exploding with extra voltage released from the tube. The first day of installation, I had a circuit breakdown in the entire studio space because my installation was not having any earthing and insulated from converging with each other. I requested the electrician to put a grounding for the release of voltage from the metal structure and tube of the CRT. This is how I managed to not explode and catch fire with 6 CRT monitors. There was another challenge to manually syncronize all the videos of the project so that it looks continuos and a pattern of simulation, which I had to loop on a media player everyday. As I was not technically profound and had limitations, the only way to solve the loop was making and hour long loop videos and playing them over the media player.
Converging with the collective knowledge of information available in the phase of digitalization, the strangeness that I encounter in the streets of Dhaka reveal a techno-centric asylum which is the norm in the late-capital era. We relish their directness but do not wish to be touched by their haunting quality. Apart from that, I am fascinated by shapes and forms and regularly use them to create a topological awareness. It has transformed from the experience and imagination of a digital age rendezvous. The initiation of the project started back in 2018, and I still continue to explore and experiment the parameters of my experience.
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