“Modernization of the Vernacular - A BIOSCOPIC VIEW OF A SEMI PAKKA IN KORAIL”
The film documents the construction of a small store, a semi-pakka, (a structure that uses partial brick and mortar and partial wood and corrugated steel roofing sheets) in Korail. Despite being one of the largest settlements in Dhaka, Korail lacks proper infrastructure, electricity and water supply. The neighborhood is also exempt from specific zoning laws, allowing residents to construct houses, over a period of time, using alternative materials and building techniques. Houses expand upwards to accommodate the influx of economic and environmental migrants that come to Dhaka from rural areas.
Shiuly, the store owner, makes her income reselling plastic, glass, metal and other recyclable items, to support her and her three children. Her husband abandoned her and makes no financial contribution to her or their family. She earns around 500$ to 800$ per month. In comparison, the entry level salary of a recent college graduate in Bangladesh averages at 200$ to 400$ per month. Her income however is an anomaly, as majority of the residents in Korail live well below the poverty line. Paradoxically, the neighborhood is also a prime location for entrepreneurs and investors. Shiuly’s brothers are some of the few that are reaping the benefits of this system. They are local politicians that have forcibly occupied land in Korail, and passively earn around 7000$ to 20000$ a month, from their rental units.
The full film was commissioned for the Düsseldorf at the Kunatsammlungrw Modern Art Museum’s exhibition FORTHCOMING. SPECULATIONS IN URBAN SPACE, K21, APR 13 – AUG 4, 2024. Featuring work by: Hannah Darabi, Guerreiro do Divino Amor, Walid Raad, Hedda Roman, Hito Steyerl, Liam Young and Tobias Zielony.
FORTHCOMING. SPECULATIONS IN URBAN SPACE was an exhibition where nine contemporary artists respond to upheavals in the urban space. The new exhibition in K21 takes visitors to Beirut and Dhaka, Los Angeles, Berlin, Brasilia, and Naples. Film installations, videos, photographs, and books explore the themes of loss and destruction, memory and reconstruction.
Neun zeitgenössische Künstler*innen reagieren auf Umbrüche im städtischen Raum. Die neue Ausstellung in der Bel Etage des K21 führt nach Beirut und Dhaka, nach Los Angeles, Berlin, Brasilia und Neapel. Filminstallationen, Videos, Fotografien und Bücher beschäftigen sich mit Verlust und Zerstörung, Erinnerung und Wiederaufbau.