"Ephemeral : Perennial" is an attempt at exploring the medium of performance in the context of today's Bangladesh. This inquiry was urgent: the growing numbers of local practitioners and their commitment to redefine the conventional understanding of the medium have triggered the development of various, specific languages and practices. In the wake of this boundless activity, the exhibition ambition is to give perspective on parameters such as fragility, absence, abstraction or narration in relation to the performer's body.
"Ephemeral : Perennial" builds on a double conundrum: what to show, and how to show it? Few archived material subsists when it comes to performance art in Bangladesh, and the content of the exhibition came through the organisation of a "Performance Art Week" during which 20 artists held various performances across three venues.
Bangladeshi performance is characterized by the interdisciplinary exchanges it has always generated – originally with fields of politics, theatre or literature but today more and more with photography or video. Conceived as a forum for experimentation and built through a unique learning process involving artists and curators, "Ephemeral : Perennial" points at the idiosyncrasy of performance art in this part of the world.
Daily Star Bengal Arts Precinct, Dhaka