Light Rain, 2015–2021
Artwork
Light Rain
Light rain, 2015-2021 (figures 14 and 15), is an immersive, poetic moving image work and installation. Filmed in the geographically volcanic region of Oita, in the Japanese city of Beppu. Famous for its hot springs, where steam rises relentlessly day and night from the depths of the city’s landscape framing all aspects of existence for its inhabitants, this two-screen installation of Light rain is a meditation on time and the quotidian. Set within this landscape, the work opens with a sequence of words written in Japanese with English sub-titles beneath: ‘From the bowels of this earth rises up… light rain’. Presenting a scene shot from two viewpoints, a billowing of clouds lifting into the night sky appears at first glance to be a sign of a disturbing event unfolding. What seemed redolent perhaps of news footage from a war zone, slowly unfolds differently. Its spectacle nevertheless remains unsettling. Recorded at night from the small ledge of a precipice overlooking the town of Kanawa as it sleeps, the sounds of cicada are intermittently interrupted by the ambient sounds of passing vehicles. The slightly staggered timings between the two projections draws our attention to the passing of time, and the slow disconcerting filtering of volcanic activity and life which continues around it.
Related Links
Sutapa Biswas, in Ben Luke A brush with… Sutapa Biswas. Artist Interview / Podcast
The Art Newspaper. Published 22 November 2023·PodcastSutapa Biswas, in Lauren Elkin, Profile: Recognition at Last After Decades of Decolonizing Art: Sutapa Biswas is the Subject of two major exhibitions in Britain that explore the country’s imperial legacy
New York Times, October 15, 2021·ReviewSutapa Biswas, in Rachel Spence, Sutapa Biswas – a pioneering artist of race, exile and resistance, Financial Times Review of solo exhibition Lumen: Sutapa Biswas, Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge
Financial Times, January 11, 2022·Review'Sutapa Biswas in Conversation with David Olusoga', Chaired by Sarah Munro, Director, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK. Publication date: 19.2.2022·VideoSutapa Biswas, in Skye Sherwin, Review: A new exhibition showcases an artist who has spent four decades shattering Asian stereotypes and highlighting women’s untold stories
The Guardian, Monday 11 October, 2021 ·ReviewSutapa Biswas, in Joanna Cresswell, Profile: Sutapa Biswas, The Indian born artist reflects on a life fearlessly redrawing the boundaries of feminism, colonialism and art
Elephant Magazine, 16 July 2021·ReviewSutapa Biswas, in Una Richmond, 'Sutapa Biswas', Aware – Centre Pompidou
Published by Archives of Women Artists 2022 ©·CatalogueSutapa Biswas, in Stephanie Bailey, ‘Sutapa Biswas Crosses Time and Space’. Sutapa Biswas’s first substantial solo show in 14 years builds on the artist’s role in the British Black arts movement.'
Ocula Magazine, Spotlight. 2021 - 2022 ·ArticleSutapa Biswas, in Millie Walton, Two Major Solo Shows Celebrate the Work of Sutapa Biswas
Trebuchet Magazine, 19.3.2021 ·ReviewSutapa Biswas, in Kabir Jhala, Sutapa Biswas: ‘Our reckoning with empire has recently begun, but we’ve only scratched the surface’. Ahead of two major UK shows, the British Indian artist discusses her new work and her role in the Black British Arts movement.
The Art Newspaper, 24 June 2021·InterviewSutapa Biswas, in Anna McNay, Sutapa Biswas – interview: ‘I felt questioning established systems of knowledge and power was as vital as breathing’.
Studio International, 24.6.2021·InterviewSutapa Biswas, in Adrian Searle, Exhibitions not to be missed in 2021, The Guardian
The Guardian, 31.12.2020·Review