Photographs, light boxes, laser cut plywood replica, video and sound
Disappearing Roots considers the displacement of indigenous people in the hill tracts of Bangladesh. The Kaptai dam was built in 1962 as a hydropower source, and it produces about 5% of the total electricity consumed by Bangladesh. However, its creation displaced over 100,000 people (70% Chakma) and also submerged many homes, including the palace of the Chakma king which remains buried deep underneath a lake that is currently frequented by tourists. Globally over ten million people per year are displaced by World Bank development projects (dams and infrastructure projects). Through video and photography created through the artist’s long term engagement with the hill tract communities, this work captures the remaining traces of ancient ways of life, highlighting the violence of gentrification and the trauma found in submerged symbols of cultural autonomy.
Person in red partly hidden by dense green foliage beside an empty chair.
Shirtless person stands amid waist-high green vines in a cultivated field.
Cluster of bright artificial flowers attached to a leafless shrub in a dry field.
Young person in a blue dress stands alone in cleared brown scrubland.
Seated person in striped clothing rests on an ornate red chair surrounded by vegetation.
Seated figure faces away on a red chair, head wrapped in reflective silver material.
Person in green patterned clothing holds a coil of red cord among dry brush.
Two bare tree trunks rise from shallow muddy water beneath a gray sky.
Person stands waist-deep in a river holding a framed portrait above the water.
Two adults stand in shallow water, one lifting striped fabric around the other.
Person in green patterned dress holds brittle branches in a dry field.
Shaved-head person stands in a stream holding a wide red cloth behind them.
Two adults stand close together on a grassy bank beside a winding river.
Shirtless person stands partly concealed by tall dry grasses and branches.
Red cloth drapes over a simple frame in a sparse green clearing.
Child holds a small bouquet while standing in a dark, dry woodland clearing.
Flames and black smoke consume a red cloth mounted in an open field.
Two raised hands or branch-like forms emerge from a mound of dry brush.
Two sari-clad figures with reflective silver head coverings face a river landscape.
Small white architectural model rests high among tangled dry branches.
Sepia-toned view of a palace model submerged beneath rippling water.
Detailed brown palace model displayed on a black base against a white background.
Panoramic gallery installation with red-lit rooms, framed photographs, and sculptural displays.
Row of glowing photographic light boxes mounted across a dark red wall.
Older person seated beside a wooden chair in a shallow rocky river.