Interdisciplinary New Media Artist/Designer and Musician
This Earth is a chaotic story of mysteries and wonders.
Art-science intersection of enquiry interests her to explore & question the relationship we have as humans with nature and technology today. She values the co-existence of meaning and absurdity.
Bidisha graduated from Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology in 2013.
PROJECTS
Ethnographic music - local music - festival - electronic music - Berlin - India - live performances - 2019
ARTIST RESIDENCY / LIVE PERFORMANCE
Fieldlines is an immersive residency that was held in the week running up to Magnetic Fields festival where Berlin based cultural activists Gebruder Teichmann, Kolkata based sound artist Bidisha Das and german multi instrumentalist Ulrich Teichman lived and worked together with folk artists from Rajasthan, Ustad Hakim Khan, Firoz Khan, Sumitra Devi and Kutle Khan.
During the few days the artistes have spent time interacting with each other understanding their respective cultures and traditions, exploring , nuances and aesthetics of experimental electronic sounds and folk music, and bridging the gap between two distinct musical worlds the residency also, serves to highlight and conserve traditional instruments and playing styles
The residency collaboration and showcase serves to demonstrate the local and international interest that audiences and artists have for traditional music forms at the festival apart from exploring the concepts of interdisciplinary and intercultural artistic languages showcasing improvised a jams throughout the festival the collaborative experience will also culminate with a performance on the final day of the festival.
The artistes believe that bringing musicians and people from such diverse age groups and socio cultural backgrounds together in an open process allows one to understand complex traditions and interpret numerous perspectives as the contemporary music industry in India is quite often viewed as a socially disparate space the whole experience explores genuine ways to create meaningful social bridges through the residency that also strives to present all artists both creatively and socially on the same fundamental level using music as a medium and language to showcase unity
website: https://www.goethe.de/en/uun/auf/mus/ikf/019/maf.html
Article: http://www.bordermovement.com/creating-social-spaces-that-celebrate-honour-togetherness-fieldlines/
Installation - artist residency - nature - electronic - sounds - Team work - technology - ecology - live - Earth - France - 2019
INSTALLATION/ EXHIBIT
How can we resolve the disconnection from nature that is felt in the concrete canyons of the city? A team of Hive residents decided to form the collective Telenatura Lab and bring nature into the city to remind city dwellers that they are part of a much larger ecosystem.
The first prototype designed by Telenatura Lab is Radio Rocher, an interactive sculpture. It’s a connected rock (rocher in French) that broadcasts sounds of waves, birds, buzzing insects and more, recorded in real-time around the world. Just like holding a seashell against your ear to hear the sound of the sea, users are prompted to put an ear against one of the cracks in the rock face, where a soundscape transports the listener to places such as New York, Kyoto or thecamp’s garden.
The project wouldn't be possible without the collaboration with
http://www.ecole-art-aix.fr/ (University of Aix en Provence)
http://www.cnrs.fr/ ( French national Centre for Scientific Research)
website: https://telenaturalab.com/
Human - non human species - live music - festival - electronic music - Berlin - India - Bangalore - live performances - 2019
LIVE PERFORMANCE/EXHIBITION
Bidisha Das X Thomas Heidtmann
NOW: A Kinetic Life is an interactive installation that spans a visual and acoustic connection between outer space and physical spaces that surround us. It is an orchestra of movement using elements from outer space, nature and human bodies as instrumentations. It is an expression of the ever-changing moment we are living in now. The installation brings in sounds from all these spaces in real-time to a modular synthesizer, the heart of the installation, that Das has created exclusively for the project. The synthesizer is accompanied by CubeSat-like objects that are part of Heidtmann’s 'Place in Orbit' project, wearable gloves and plants with sensors. Supported by the Goethe-Institut.
Festival Website: http://unboxfestival.com/collaborators.html
Performance: https://vimeo.com/429716644
Installation - artist residency - nature - electronic - sounds - Berlin - India - installation - technology - ecology - live - Earth - 2019
ARTIST RESIDENCY/EXHBITION/PERFORMANCE/TALKS
NOW – A Kinetic Life is an interactive installation that spans a visual and acoustic connection between outer space and physical spaces that surround us. It is an orchestra of movement using elements from outer space, nature and human bodies as instrumentations. It is an expression of the ever-changing moment we are living in: NOW.The installation brings in sounds from all these spaces in real-time to a modular synthesizer, the heart of the proposed installation, that Das has created exclusively for the project. It is used to perform live as well as for a permanent sound installation. The synthesizer is accompanied by CubeSat-like objects that are part of Heidtmann's "Place in Orbit" project, wearable gloves and plants with sensors.
The experience is like having multiple ears aimed at different directions and in various locations at the same time. The real-time data from the spaces and the output result are unique each time it is performed: Natural sounds and sounds from the universe, all merging together – life, that is thriving everywhere and binding us together to live in the moment, NOW.
'Now, a kinetic life ' is made possible in collaboration with the Berlin based artist
Thomas Heidtmann.
Supported by:
NOW. A Kinetic Life is made possible through the bangaloREsidency-Expanded programme by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore in collaboration with Lacuna Lab e.V.
With the generous support of Goethe Institute/ bangaloREsidency expanded in cooperation with Lacuna Lab.
Exhibitions and talks: Art Laboratory Berlin, Lacuna Lab.
Project website : https://bidishamails.wixsite.com/nowakineticlife/now-a-kinetic-life
Darwin scholars Programme-U.K
Research - local - ecology - Charles Darwin - U.K - India - Science communication - 2016
ART-SCIENCE RESEARCH
As a part of the Darwin Scholars programme which was held in Field Studies Council which is based on Shrewsbury, I got to experience the forests of U.K. There were people from many countries who came together and shared with each other the work in the field of ecology and environment that is being practiced.
We also came to see and experience the place where Charles Darwin was born and grew up. The house where he was born in Shrewsbury and his family that always supported him and stayed in the beautiful gardern.
Then he moved to the downtown house where he finished his famous book 'On the Origin of species'. Also the gardern and the insectivorous plants that were there. Rendel Keynes (the great great grandson of Charles Darwin) he told us a lot of stories about him which made us realise that he was more of a person of blood and flesh and how he was inspired by nature and his journeys to write the book. The personal stories of his life was really interesting.
Then we also went to the forests of Whales and later to Natural history museum. There we mostly learned and saw how data was managed and the offices there also work with communication methods as its a museum.
Exploring the Amazon rainforest
Conservation - biology -communities - science communication - films - rainforest - ecology - harmony - non human species - data - 2015
CONSERVATION METHODS/SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
For 6 months from May till October 2015 as a rainforest journalist intern, I explored a small chunk of the Peruvian Amazon at (MLC) run by Crees. I was in the middle of the rainforest learning about Conservation and particularly 'Tropical Survey Research Techniques'. Staying close to nature, it was one of the richest experiences I ever had. I was astonished to understand and realize the way the ecosystem works, about water cycle, about the plants and the animals all living in harmony and so much more.
We did the bio surveys like butterfly trapping, mammal trapping, claylick monitoring, herpbox, visual encounter surveys, early morning avian-mammal transects, dung beetle traps, pitfalls and the like. Along with these, we worked on bio-gardens and did community works with the people at the nearby jungle town of Salvación.
With Charlie Hamilton James from the National Geographic Magazine, I worked with camera traps too. Every study undertaken at crees leads to the knowledge of how to monitor a regenerating forest and I am proud to be a part of it to help in betterment of the future of our Planet.
I was interested in the history of the place and how this piece of land (MLC Reserve) evolved over the period of time. I did local research and made a documentary film, all the while interacting with the local people and the researchers in and around the Manu Learning Centre.
The relationship of the science communication and interaction was important.
The 'Undivided Mind' residency
futuristic - live - audio - installation - live - performance - Public - delhi - ecology - harmony - non human species - technology - plants - 2015
ART- SCIENCE ARTIST RESIDENCY/PERFORMANCE/EXHIBITION
I got a chance to participate in the first Art Science Residency called the 'Undivided Mind' at Khoj, New Delhi, India in March-April 2015. As a part of Indian Sonic Research Organisation, Shreyashi Kar and myself were involved as a team of artists.
I worked on 'Techno Tree', which was an analog sound instrument with sequencers, oscillators etc. It was light sensitive too.
The concept: A plant under the beam of a spot light was the primary performer that represented nature, and its shadow was the circuit that I designed and built representing technology. This metaphorical expression was both an illusion and a reality where the natural shadow and the circuit board superimposed as one.
The method: I started designing the circuit from scratch and drew it by hand to make the connections like a drawing. I thought the circuit could be made more like a painting and not necessarily something having a technical look. I wanted an organic feel in the circuit I made.
It was fun exploring sound instruments that changed and generated music based on the amount of light present in the surroundings.
Video link to ‘The Techno Tree at work’:
Project blog links:
https://isroatkhoj.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/d-i-y-printed-circuit-board/
https://isroatkhoj.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/electronics-explorations/
https://isroatkhoj.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/making-of-the-techno-tree/
The Voices project
communities - participatory - film - multi-screen installation - Public - Bangalore - research methods - questions - community rights - 2013-14
COMMUNITY RIGHTS/PARTICIPATORY FILM
The 'Voices Project' was based in Odisha in 2013, India. I was travelling around the region of Khandadhar Hills for a month, interacting with the 'Paudi Bhuyan' community learning about their relationship with nature and documenting through participatory video involving the local people.
I found that the pristine forest and hills were threatened by the mining companies looking for iron ore. A part of the project was to see how 'Forest Rights Acts' can play a role in understanding the needed evidence for the community rights.
I used participatory documentation as a method for recording data, and also to see and understand how the indigenous people interact with technology when they encounter camera for the fist time.
I made an interactive documentary film along with an audio visual installation as an outcome of a year long project.
Link to the documentation blog: https://theprojectvoices.wordpress.com/
Interactive documentary:https://vimeo.com/84839814
Caltech- NASA space mission design
Future - space mission design - human space flight -
Public - NASA - research methods - Pasadena - Art -science - 2011
FUTURE HUMAN SPACE MISSION DESIGNER/SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
In 2011, I got the chance to be a part of Caltech Space Challenge organized by Caltech Institute of Technology and JPL, NASA. Thirty two students from different parts of the world were split into two teams to design a human mission to an asteroid in 2025. I was the only designer selected.
As a team we worked to design the whole mission sustainably. I specifically looked after the psychological aspect and requirements of the astronauts and how can the design address them. I also worked on the space craft design and on the public outreach for the mission to the world.
Earlier in 2010, along with Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronomers Association, I built an 8 inch reflecting telescope that took an year to complete. This made my dream of the stars coming closer to me a reality.
Link: https://kiss.caltech.edu/workshops/csc2011/csc2011.html#Students
