“‘Time flies’ is a work inspired by the last conversation I had with my father before he passed away about birds with particular reference to a passage from Marcel Proust’s writings about the sound of a wood pigeon cutting through the forest. My father was in some ways strangely bird-like. ‘Time flies’ is a work about diasporas, and the consequential migratory paths of those who survive the turbulence of these violent histories of empire. Formally it references representations of birds and sentient creatures in Indian miniature paintings as well as in those paintings produced by Europeans who worked for the various East India companies – including the British East India Company and during the period of the British Raj in India. It is also a work about love, the stories that are sometimes told or shared, and the deep sense of loss felt when those who carry these migratory and diasporic experiences, come to pass”.
Time Flies (2004 – on going) © Sutapa Biswas. All rights reserved DACS 2021.
Image credit: Rob Harris © Baltic
