Emergency Shelter for Non-Native Flowers 2024

There exists a widespread paranoia in the UK concerning non-native plant species that have made the soil of this country their homeland. A collaboration with artist Chloe Smith, this artwork upholds this as a metaphor to comment on the place, dignity and safety of migrant populations in the United Kingdom. The design of the structure reflects the dichotomy of the migrant experience. Resembling a simple tent at first sight, the structure in fact leans on and is held up by the wall. It is a commentary on how the condition of migrants are dependent on the power structures of political hierarchy, and in the end, the very structure they depend on for shelter makes the shelter unstable. The shelter protects imagined relics of non-native flowers, including preserved specimens, visual poetry, and scientific data disproving the fear of “invasion” around such species. The fabric itself is transformed into a narrative of the beauty of diversity and co-existence.

Dis/Mis Placed 2024

This video installation questions the place of digital surveillance and its potential for social alienation and ostracism in an increasingly polarized world. It is a dystopian interpretation of state control and migrant targeting in the post-colonial field of international politics. The project combines creative writing with performance in the Parisian underground, to create an immersive installation offering a multisensory experience of a dystopian world. In this fictioned world, there exist two states: The Surface and The Greyscale Republic of Underground. These two states are a satiric allegory representing the Global South and Global North respectively. The protagonist (Non-Name) character is an avatar loosely based on myself, the artist, navigating these spaces, in one as a citizen, and in the other as an illegal female immigrant, engaging with themes of claustrophobia, exclusion and cultural alienation.

Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.

Bonobithi Biswas

India

https://www.bonobithibiswas.com/

A multidisciplinary Indian visual artist based in Paris, Bonobithi works in diverse analogue and digital media to create multisensory storytelling experiences. Dealing chiefly with mixed reality, drawing and painting, photography, poetry film, sculpture, audio art, performance, multilingual writing and visual poetry, she constructs immersive multimedia installations. The thematic focus of her practice is the South Asian post-colonial historic-cultural landscape, identity of the female queer body of colour, and intercultural dialogue through shared safe spaces. She is interested in speculative fiction and psychogeography in upholding silenced narratives of vulnerability in marginalised communities, particularly among women. Having participated in various artist residencies and group and solo exhibitions internationally, Bonobithi’s works have been extensively displayed in cities across India, Indonesia, Italy, UK, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Brazil, Germany, Iran and France.