DADYAA: The Woodpeckers of Rotha
2018 - Film & Video (Film & Video)
16:08 minutes
Pooja Gurung and Bibhusan Basnet
DADYAA: The Woodpeckers of Rotha by Pooja Gurung and Bibhusan Basnet illuminates a unique and seldom seen international perspective on indigenous cultures and contemporary social issues in the Nepali context. A small masterpiece, the work engages with one of the most pressing social issues in Nepal, mass migration and the dissolving of social fabric in rural areas. The story begins with an old couple, Atimaley and Devi, who live in a village in Jumla, in the highlands of Western Nepal. With the unannounced departure of a close friend, the only other person living in the village, they face the dilemma of staying and keeping the memories alive or leaving the village for good. The film is inspired by several stories; Jumla is known for its tradition of ceremonial wooden masks, as well as for protective wooden effigies, known as dadyaa, which are made as offerings to local deities but sometimes as memories of ancestors. In recent years, numerous effigies made by a local sculptor have appeared around Jumla, on bridges, rooftops, ladders, and throughout the forest. Nepal is also burdened by both internal and external migration, with many of its villages desolated and abandoned by young people. But the film is not meant to be an ethnographic survey, and as such it is also inspired by the story of a Japanese woman who made dolls to fill up her village as people died or left for the city, a major phenomenon in Japan. While it mobilizes local references and artistic storytelling languages, at the same time, the work is infused with personal drama and visceral emotion.
Pooja Gurung and Bibhusan Basnet have a joint practice that merges film and visual art. Their artistic strategy is deeply engaged with indigenous cultures, customary and traditional art forms, while presenting these voices in their full relevance for contemporary social issues, in beautifully staged plots and landscapes. Bibhusan Basnet and Pooja Gurung’s practice is an original and locally specific effort of decolonisation, that attempts to find novel ways of integrating different cultural viewpoints in Nepal, a country reinventing itself after an authoritarian regime that erased the many indigenous cultures. With its ethical approaches and aesthetic achievements, Bibhusan Basnet and Pooja Gurung’s practice can serve as a reference point for decolonization struggles around the world.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » ARTS EQUATOR
New on ArtsEquator in 2021: Hot List, Teaser Tuesday and Cakap-Cakap | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints December 4, 2020 ArtsEquator is introducing three new series in 2021 – Hot List, Teaser Tuesday and Cakap-Cakap – to help promote shows, events and other arts and culture programmes in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia...
© » KADIST
Martin Creed
2003This photograph of Martin Creed himself was used as the invitation card for a fundraising auction of works on paper at Christie’s South Kensington in support of Camden Arts Centre’s first year in a refurbished building in 2005...
© » KADIST
Sharon Lockhart
2011Visalia Livestock Market, Visalia, California results from Lockhart’s prolonged investigation of an agricultural center and community...
© » SLASH PARIS
J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga — Edouard-Manet de Gennevilliers Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga — Edouard-Manet de Gennevilliers Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga Exhibition Ceramic, drawing, film, lithography / engraving.....
© » KADIST
Frequencies of Tradition at Incheon Art Platform, Curated by Hyunjin Kim With works by Sooryeon Choe, Chung Seoyoung, Yoeri Guépin, Ho Tzu Nyen, Chia Wei Hsu, siren eun young jung, Jane Jin Kaisen, Alexander Keefe + Ashoke Chatterjee & Liz Phillips, Tomoko Kikuchi, Ayoung Kim, Gala Porras-Kim, Seulgi Lee, Young Min Moon, Hwayeon Nam, Part-time Suite, Ko Sakai & Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Lieko Shiga, Simon Soon + Roger Nelson & Stella, Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez, Erika Tan, Fiona Tan, Evelyn Taocheong Wang, Wang Tuo, Ming Wong, Yo Daham, and Zheng Guogu Frequencies of Tradition departs from an understanding of tradition as a space of contestation, where one can critically reflect on Asian modernization and pluralize our comprehension of the regional modern...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
Organizers decry last-minute cancelation of Hanoi EDM festival (via Tuoi Tre News) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles November 27, 2018 An EDM (electronic dance music) festival scheduled to take place just outside Hanoi from November 23 to 25 was asked to cancel only hours before its opening, despite sold tickets and foreign and local artists and volunteers already heading to the venue...
© » KADIST
Saturday, December 4 at 3 pm at Kadist Visit of the exhibition in the presence of the artists : Kate Mitchell, Ms&Mr and Arin Rungjang Please RSVP: assistant@kadist.org Wednesday, December 8 from 7 to 9pm in the Auditorium of Jeu de Paume “Fabrications: The Theatre of Everyday Life” presented by David Teh and Dougal Phillips “Unreal Asia” a thematic programme originally conceived for the 55th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2009...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
Celebrating the monstrous other: "Anak Pontianak" and "Nobody" at LumiNation | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles Courtesy of The Filmic Eye August 5, 2019 By ila (1,100 words, 6-minute read) The year is 2049: two hundred years since the Pontianak first appeared in writing, marked insignificantly in Hikayat Abdullah as residues of superstitious and foolish beliefs of the Chinese and Malays that have persisted with time...
© » KADIST
Randa Maddah
2012A woman meticulously tidies up the room of a ruined house in the village of Ain Fit in the occupied Syrian Golan...
© » EYE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
© 2023 All rights reserved - The Eye of Photography Olivier Culmann, URSSAF Normandie, site du Havre @ Olivier Culmann Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, Normandie, France 10/05/2023 © Olivier Culmann / Tendance Floue @ Thomas Jorion @ Sidonie Van Den @ Isabelle Scotta @ Carlo Lombardi S From October 21st to January 7th, 2024, for its 14th edition, 25 international photographers, both established and emerging, can be discovered in an open-air exhibition tour throughout the city, on the beach, and indoors at Point de Vue and Les Franciscaines...
© » KADIST
Angelica Mesiti
2013Angelica Mesiti’s piece, The Calling (2013-14) is a poignant exploration of ancient human traditions evolving and adapting to the modern world...
© » KADIST
Caroline Monnet, Mobilize A screening program followed by the artist in with conversation with Adam Piron, Assistant Curator for Film at LACMA Montreal-based artist Caroline Monnet explores Indigenous identity, bicultural living, and complex cultural histories through photography, sculpture, film, video, and installation...