BAN♡ITS

Originally produced for the Busan Biennale 2024 under the theme ‘Seeing in the Dark’, ban♡its oscillates between order and chaos in a luminous, highly musical ritual led by an arrogant and witty former bandit in the Habiganj District. Omar Chowdhury’s playfulness is apparent from the opening scene which overlaps a modified quote from Mao Tse-tung’s On Guerrilla Warfare with unapologetic dancing. The colourful inverted imagery brings aesthetic vibrancy whilst also serving as an inventive tool for anonymity and a nod to the eerie nature of military thermal cameras. In contrast with the bravado of the bandits, Chowdhury stays out of sight playing the role of a shy, insecure artist in a self aware and refreshing critique of artmaking and privilege.

~ Ane Lopez

Omar A. CHOWDHURY (1984, Bangladesh) is a Bengali artist and filmmaker living between Brussels and Dhaka. Originally trained in industrial relations and information systems, he now produces parafictional installations, films, and performances which animate the ambiguities and ruptures of diasporic life. Chowdhury is an immigrant from Bengal, and this is reflected in his layered installations. His work has been exhibited worldwide and he has been the recipient of international grants and commissions. He attended the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten 2018-19.

BAN♡ITS (2024), anus Tussle (2023), Augustijn (2019), The Colonies at Dusk (2016), Age of Saturn (2016), Locus (2015), Torsions (2014), STONEWORK (2012)