Rotterdam
I recently had the opportunity to present Going East at its Rotterdam premiere, alongside Hazuan Hashim, as part of an evening that explored the global struggle against capitalism. This screening was curated by David Whyte, whose work also contributed to the newly released anthology Drowning Capitalism. The event, which combined film, live music, and critical discourse, provided a space for reflection on the intersections of art, politics, and social change.
The mixed media image above uses a series of photographs I made in and around Rotterdam. These images capture fleeting moments that resonate with the film’s larger meditations on global interconnectedness and the human condition.
Going East is an observational film that eschews traditional narrative structure in favor of an immersive, non-linear exploration of life across various cultural and geographical contexts. Drawing extensively from our global archive of film and photography, the work presents a series of unmediated, intimate glimpses into people, places, and objects encountered in urban spaces worldwide. The absence of a conventional narrative allows the viewer to reflect on the complexity and vibrancy of life, while also raising questions about the systems that bind these disparate lives together.
Originally premiered at the Southbank Centre in London in 2008, Going East was accompanied by an original score by composer Lola Perrin. For the Rotterdam premiere, Perrin composed a completely new score that responded directly to the evolving themes of the film. This performance marked a significant moment in the ongoing dialogue between image and sound within the work, and an opportunity for the audience to engage with the piece through a heightened sensory experience.
The premiere was hosted at V2_Lab for the Unstable Media, an institution at the forefront of exploring the intersection of art, technology, and society. V2_Lab fosters a critical and experimental environment where artists, scholars, and technologists engage with the unstable nature of emerging media and its impact on contemporary culture. As a venue deeply committed to critical inquiry and the intersection of technology and artistic practice, V2_Lab provided an ideal setting for a film that interrogates the societal structures shaping our world.
For those interested, the full screening of Going East with Lola Perrin’s newly composed score, followed by a roundtable discussion, is available here: An Evening with David Whyte.
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Around Liverpool (101)
If you are interested in supporting my latest photography book then click here. Many thanks!
Around Liverpool (100)
If you are interested in supporting my latest photography book then click here. Many thanks!
Around Liverpool (99)
If you are interested in supporting my latest photography book then click here. Many thanks!
Exodus
This photomontage combines an image of the skyline of the City of london and rickshaws on a road in Dhaka. It raises questions about the relationship between Bangladesh and the UK – a former colonial power that pillaged the resources of the country.
Today western capitalists profit from the exports the country produces. Tesco, H&M, Primark, Wal-Mart and other mega-corporations depend on the cheap clothing produced in the nation’s factories. Many garment industry workers subsist on poverty wages driven down by Western companies drive to maximise profits — and are forced to work in highly unsafe conditions.
The caretaker ‘Chief Adviser’ of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus is currently in the UK for top level meetings with Kier Starmer and others. The recovery of laundered money and overseas assets is expected to be high on the agenda. Governor Ahsan H Mansur recently told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy that the chief adviser will raise the issue during the London visit, as part of ongoing efforts to recover stolen funds and assets. According to the government, an estimated $16 billion was “illicitly” transferred abroad annually under the previous administration.
Bangladesh is seeking cooperation from the British government through its high commissioner in Dhaka to trace and recover the exodus of funds allegedly laundered to the UK by individuals associated with the former Sheikh Hasina-led regime.
As well as the photomontage raising issues about economic inequality I can’t help thinking of the consequences of climate change – caused mainly by western industrialised nations – on Bangladesh. Climate change threatens the lives of over 19 million children in Bangladesh, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). Twenty of Bangladesh’s 64 districts are exposed to the most hazardous effects of climate change such as cyclones, flash floods and droughts. The report says “The effects of climate change are pushing families in many of the country’s poorest communities over the edge, leaving them unable to keep their children properly housed, fed, healthy and educated.”
Last year the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (Brac), said in a statement that up to 3 million people remained stranded as fast-moving water inundated vast areas of farmland, destroying livelihoods, homes and crops. It said that many remained without electricity, food or water. Other media reported up to 4.5 million people have been affected in the delta nation of 170 million people.
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