Autograph presents the London premiere of Sutapa Biswas’ acclaimed film Lumen in a new solo exhibition.
Where history has often marginalised the female voice, Lumen reinstates it, not just as a mainstay of family and home but as an avatar of social conscience.
Born in India and educated in the UK, Biswas’ art is underpinned by an interest in colonial histories and how this relates to gender, race and class. Her comissioned film, Lumen begins with the story of a baby emerging from a womb and ends on a note of departure, with its female protagonist about to embark on a journey across uncharted waters. Inspired by the artist’s journey by ship with her family from Mumbai to Dover in the 1960s, Lumen gives voice to her mother and grandmother through a poetic and powerful monologue spoken by the actress Natasha Patel.
The film sheds unflinching light on the ripple effects of a complex and turbulent past. Imaginatively illuminating the long shadows of the past, Biswas suggests the potential to make a better, shared future.
Lumen (2021), by Sutapa Biswas is co-commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge, and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, supported by Art Fund through the Moving Image Fund. The commission has been additionally supported by Autograph. Produced by Film and Video Umbrella. Supported by Arts Council England.
Sutapa Biswas: Lumen exhibition is supported using public funding by Arts Council England. Also supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation.
