Experimenter Gallery opening 17 July 2025 6 pm.

Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah’s film 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘬𝘺 is part of his solo 𝘕𝘰 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘕𝘰 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳, opened this Thursday, July 17 at Experimenter – Ballygunge Place, Kolkata.

“The blood moon is seen in different sequences of the 4-minute animation ensemble across a matrix of water and sky. Fish and passing ships convey Sri Lanka’s civilizational legacy and colonial conquests being shaped in a foamy Indian Ocean. From charting imperial cartography to borderscapes, thousands of found images are overlaid with drawings to make time leaps and convey current social schisms. The artist connects the vector of coloniality with militarized violence and traps of liberal capitalism—delving from the island vantage to macro perspectives…The score for this animated short included a unique collaboration with folk and classical musicians from across the island, many of whom were producing such a composite track for the first time, where piano chords are heard with striking grooves of a local small drum (udekki), summoning an affective paradox of extinction and rebirth.”

— Excerpt from the exhibition essay ‘Flowers amongst Ruination’ by Natasha Ginwala

Image:
Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘬𝘺, HD Video, color and sound, 4 min 40 sec, 2021–2022. Installation view.

[#PushpakanthanPakkiyarajah, No Race, No Colour, Solo, Experimenter, Ballygunge Place, Kolkata]