SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Speaking in Tongues. 2022
2022-23
Interactive video, capacitive touch buttons
15 mins approx

Speaking in Tongues is an interactive video from the perspective of an exile as she navigates her surroundings. She suddenly awakens in an idyllic summer setting but realizes over time that it is a closed and self-contained world with no escape. She attempts to understand her situation and communicate with the non-human agencies around her: a cloud as an environmental agent, a camera as a machine, and a plant as bio-matter. Viewers may forge their own pathways, navigating through a series of choices in the narrative.

The format is an oblique reference to the classic Sanskrit poetic form Sandesha Kavya in which a tale is narrated through a message sent usually via a non-human agency including clouds, birds, and other natural elements. I find this format speaks to my existing interest in language but allows me to reimagine it as more than a uniquely human ability. What would text and speech look like if not molded through a human tongue, mind, and hand? What might it say?

Supported by the Karachi Biennale