Budhaditya Chattopadhyay
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Decomposing Landscape
We have arguably entered the Anthropocene epoch – a new geologic era defined by unprecedented manmade violence over earth’s ecologies and environmental integrity. In this era, the ecological balance as well as the traditional cultures and heritage of tribal landscapes in the emerging economies like India have been endangered due to a global pressure for rapid growth in technological infrastructure and industrial development. Under the specter of the contemporary conditions of anthropogenic climate change, these tribal sites and pastoral landscapes along with their traditional cultural settings are undergoing massive displacement and dispossession resulting in an estrangement and alienation of the tribal community from the mainstream. In this context, multichannel composition Decomposing Landscape (2015 – 2018) is developed through extensive fieldwork and recordings made at specific sites now considered Special Economic Zones(SEZ), situated in the eastern part of India. The work creates an interactive situation to facilitate a contemplative audiovisual experience, and aims to delineate transitions of India from a pastoral past gearing fast toward the contemporary urban disaffecting traditional and indigenous communities, rendered in the composition within a mode of criticality and questioning. The project not only intendsto foster the capacity to reconnect with the tribal community, but also records cultural transformation of troubled landscapes for wider public awareness.
Composed, mixed and produced at ICST, Zurich University of the Arts. Format of field recording: SD 702, Mid Stereo (MKH 60/30), Broadcast wave file. Format of composition: Ambisonics B format 3rdOrder, 16 channels Other mixes: Stereo, Surround 5.1 and binaural (for listening in headphones) Digital workstation: Cubase 6.5/Digital Performer 8/Max 7/ICST Ambisonics plug in Production year: 2015 – 2018 At various stages, this project has received financial and other support from Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam, and ICST, Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).
Biography: Budhaditya Chattopadhyay is an Indian-born sound artist, composer, and researcher. He holds a PhD in artistic research and sound studies from the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, Leiden University, The Netherland, and a Master of Arts degree in new media from Aarhus University, Denmark. In 2019, Chattopadhyay completed a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Arts and Humanities, American University of Beirut. Chattopadhyay is a Charles Wallace scholar, Prince Claus grantee, and Falling Walls fellow. He has received several residencies, fellowships and international awards. Appearing in numerous exhibitions, concerts, and festivals, Chattopadhyay’s works have been exhibited, performed, or presented across the globe. His writings regularly appear in leading peer-reviewed journals internationally.
Website: http://budhaditya.org/
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