Exile and Other Syndromes by Budhaditya Chattopadhyay

We live in an era of pervasive mobility and (dis)connectivity that triggers perpetual dislocation, where perceptions constantly shift across places to form unsettled geographies, producing meanings that at times are arguably independent from the locative sources. As increasingly migratory being, a wandering urban dweller of today's post-global cities is sensitive to environmental sounds navigating through various urban sites considering them as spatio-temporally evolving but gradually disorienting auditory situations, juxtaposed with real-time spatial information, and memory of another place in another time. The nomadic subject relates to these situations through contemplation, mindfulness and contingent processes informed by the enhanced sense of mobility. ‘Exile and Other Syndromes’ (2015 – 2016) responds to this indisposition of migration, placeless-ness and nomadism – impulses of a contemporary condition that eventually blurs the boundaries between the digital and the corporeal, between local and the global, or between private and enhanced access and freedom of the public domain, helping the nomadic subject to emerge as an elevated, emancipated self. The project intends to examine these contemporary realities manifesting in a responsive, augmented, and intelligent environment incorporating multi-channel sound diffusion, modulated text and audio data visualisation. The work considers mindful aspects of deterritorialized mode of listening, and explores its introspective capacity transcending the barrier of immediate meaning to touch the poetic sensibilities. The première of the working version will take place at CUBE, IEM: Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, Kunstuniversität Graz, 19:00, 19 January 2016.

We live in an era of pervasive mobility and (dis)connectivity that triggers perpetual dislocation, where perceptions constantly shift across places into unsettled geographies, producing meanings that at times are arguably independent of the locative sources. As increasingly migratory being, a wandering urban dweller of today’s post-global cities is sensitive to environmental sounds navigating through various urban sites considering as spatiotemporally evolving but gradually disorienting auditory situations, juxtaposed with real-time spatial information, and memory of another place in another time. The nomadic subject relates to these situations through contemplation, mindfulness and contingent processes informed by the enhanced sense of mobility. Exile and Other Syndromes (2015 – 2018) responds to this indisposition of migration, placelessness, and nomadism – impulses of a contemporary condition that eventually blurs the boundaries between the digital and the corporeal, between local and the global, between private and public domains, or between intimate and dehumanizing spaces, helping the nomadic subject to emerge as an elevated, emancipated self. The project intends to examine these contemporary realities manifesting in a generative and post-immersive installation incorporating multi-channel sound diffusion and modulated text as visualization of field recordings. The work considers mindful aspects of deterritorialized listening and explores its introspective capacity transcending the barrier of immediate meaning to touch poetic sensibilities.

The project is developed in an Artist Residency (2015 – 2016) at Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics – IEM, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria.

The premiere of the pilot version took place at CUBE, Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics – IEM, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria, 19 January 2016 - installation for 24-channels sound diffusion and 4-channels projection of modulated text (as visualization of field recordings). Thanks to Dr. Marko Ciciliani, Stefan Warum, Brigitte Bergner and all the IEM stuffs, Dennis Bergande, Heiko Aufdermauer, Jayadevan Chakkadath.

Included in the Screen City Biennial programme, Stavanger, Norway, October 2017.

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