Exhibition
Bani Abidi
They Died Laughing
Bani Abidi. Karachi Series I, 2009 Courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata © Bani Abidi
Bani Abidi is known for her distinctive approach to filmmaking, which derives from the dark absurdities of everyday life. They Died Laughing was an extensive presentation of Abidi’s works, bringing together moving image and print-based works that span two decades.
Abidi often uses video as her tool for mnemonic recall while embedding the medium with a poetic function and layers of fiction. Currently based in Berlin and Karachi, she assumes the role of a storyteller and urban archaeologist in telling the stories of cities she has lived in. Fictional narratives traverse individual experiences and ask complex questions on patriotism, framed by the historic power struggles and geopolitical relations between neighbouring nation-states India and Pakistan. Her works spin tales of ambition and failure, while thematising the relationship between state power, patriotism and megalomania.
For the exhibition at the Gropius Bau, Bani Abidi developed a new project, The Lost Procession, based on the experiences of the persecuted Hazara community from Quetta, capital of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, who have fled to Germany in recent years. While Abidi sketches encounters between these inhabited landscapes, she focuses on themes including expropriation, refuge and captivity. This project was commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation, where Bani Abidi had a solo exhibition in October 2019, curated by Hoor Al-Qasimi and Natasha Ginwala.
Bani Abidi, “‘Funland’ (Karachi Series II)“, 2014. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “‘Funland’ (Karachi Series II)“, 2014. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “‘Funland’ (Karachi Series II)“, 2014. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “A Proposal for a Man in the Sea”, 2012. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “Death at a 30 Degree Angle”, 2012. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “Shan Pipe Band Learns The Star Spangled Banner”, 2004. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “The Lost Procession”, 2019. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “Locations in the Garden of Love”, 2014/2019. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “Karachi Series I”, 2009. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Bani Abidi, “‘Funland’ (Karachi Series II)”, 2014. Installation view Bani Abidi: They Died Laughing, Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2019
Photo: Luis Kürschner, courtesy: the artist & Experimenter, Kolkata
Curated by Natasha Ginwala
Funded by the GermanFederal Cultural Foundation
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