![Poulomi Basu, from Fireflies [detail], 2019 - ongoing](https://dw4k6npnyoqvk.cloudfront.net/whats-on/events/2022/poulomi-basu-fireflies/da95934a8d24c423bcb0a1f1b17ced3b-landscape.jpg)
In her deeply emotive and powerful new series Fireflies, Indian artist and activist Poulomi Basu foregrounds the relationship between mother and daughter.
Using photography, video and sound, Basu reflects on experiences of trauma – particularly patriarchal violence – navigating the claustrophobia of home, dreams of freedom, defiance, and transcendence.
"I owe it to the women who have opened themselves up to me. I want them to know that we are fighting this oppression together. We are doing this with collective agency. Our voice of resistance” Poulomi Basu.
Basu is known for her work advocating for the rights of marginalised women, using the power of photography as a tool for storytelling and amplifying women’s voices from around the world. She says of the genesis of this new series: "Fireflies is a combination of ideas and of accumulated experiences which made me feel compelled to turn the camera upon myself; to tell my story of resistance and stand in solidarity with the women who have opened their lives to me.”
The artist and her mother feature prominently throughout the exhibition, oscillating between lone figures isolated in the vast expanse of sublime terrain to delicately composed portraits in which their bodies embrace. This intimate dialogue visualises how matrilineal history has been shaped through the bloodlines of collective experience, taking the viewer through a tender journey of generational healing.
Poulomi Basu: Fireflies is supported using public funding by Arts Council England. Also supported by Garfield Weston Foundation and Light Work. Additionally supported by Beyond Print.
