University of Dualism, 2019
Super 8 and HD, 3'30"
Still from University of NonDualism, 2019.
Still from University of NonDualism, 2019.
University of NonDualism poetically documents a performance and series of collaborations built around a ‘stage set’ of paintings and textiles by Shezad Dawood. It takes its starting point from the work of Muzharul Islam, a modernist architect, urban planner, educator and activist hailing from Bangladesh (1923–2012). Considered the Grand Master of regional modernism in South Asia, Islam’s style and influence dominated Bangladesh’s architectural scene in the 1960s and 70s. During the performance, Islam’s drawings came to life when activated by a dance performance by Pepa Ubera and Devaraj Thimmaiah, choreographed by Adrienne Hart, to a new score by patten and wearing costumes by Priya Ahluwalia. Dawood’s performance thought through how the body and fabric become architecture, and the extent to which the space of architecture is always a stage in waiting for human performativity.
Click here to view a trailer.
Written and directed by: Shezad Dawood
Produced by: Miranda Sharp and Sara Thorsen Fredborg
Commissioned/Supported by: Commissioned by Frieze Live and Dhaka Art Summit, generously supported by the Bagri Foundation.