‘A Ship Story’
Hira Nabi at Colomboscope

I showed a work in progress cut of my film ‘A Ship Story (as part of an Indian Ocean Saga)’ at Colomboscope 2019. This edition of Colomboscope titled ‘Sea Change’ was curated by Natasha Ginwala, and a well-organized team in Sri Lanka that effortlessly handled logistics such as travel and accommodation, artistic requirements, and even arranged a tour of the port for our research interests. Aziz Sohail worked with Natasha to pitch and curate the works of two Pakistani artists who were invited to participate in Colomboscope: Fazal Rizvi and myself.

By Zoya Ahmed

The festival as an interdisciplinary arts event brought together many different kinds of artistic practices including film, photographs, installation, performance art, painting, audio pieces, research and publications, public talks, among other works. This curatorial work was thoughtful and engaged, bringing together artists to engage and connect across various points of intersections as well as art students, art practitioners and people from different sections of Colombo society and beyond. It was intimate and yet broad enough to have multiple kinds and levels of conversation and exchanges. It was especially delightful to connect with artists across South Asia at a time when regional exchange seems more difficult than connections between Pakistan and the West.
 

A week after returning, I am still reeling from the energy and activity that took us all over Colombo, the response to my work, the full immersion into the art scene that was created but also built upon the backs of local practices and feeling very rejuvenated. I have yet to follow up on some of the conversations and ideas that were discussed and circulated, and I hope that there are more chances to gather, share and come together like what we just witnessed and experienced in Colombo. I am deeply grateful to all those who made Colomboscope possible, as well as our participation in it, including Goethe-Institut, Natasha Ginwala, Shanika Perera, Puja Srivastava, and Aziz Sohail.
 
 
Hira Nabi was showing a film titled ‘A Ship Story’ at Colomboscope.
This work was made possible by collaborating with the Shipbreakers Workers Union at Gadani, and Goethe-Institut, Prince Claus Fund, and Vasl Artists Association.