Reading and Exhibition: Sarnath Banerjee

Purge – Bachelor of 21 Dreams

“Purge” is the fourth of 21 episodes of the soap opera “Bachelor of 21 Dreams” of which the first four episodes were originally conceived as a mini-opera. The opera’s concept emerges in collaboration with the Italian sound artist and Solitude fellow Andrea Melloni, who wrote the music for the first four sections. As in his previous graphic novels and animations on fragmented realities in Indian cities, Sarnath Benerjee creates a demanding form of soap opera, which he expands to an animated film via various picture planes with ironic and serious elements. In the Literaturhaus Stuttgart Barnerjee will read from his graphic novel »The Bachelor of 21 Dreams«, that he uses as basis for his animations. Comic strips from the graphic work will also be on view in an exhibition. The evening will be moderated by Jean-Baptiste Joly.

In his animated films, Banerjee works through impressions from his immediate environment – “where bus line 92 dictates the inhabitants’ lives and the wide corridors, wooden stairs and the forest, threatening in its imagination, inevitably lead to a surreal scenario. “Bachelor of 21 Dreams” unfolds in a fictional landscape in a real city (“city of gates”) in which “Monty of Unfinished Plays” is a freelance writer of provocative copy for contraceptive packaging. Additional protagonists include “Brighu”, the classical nomad, a “Five Minute Woman” (the time she needs to reach orgasm), “Mrs. Sareen, the widow” or “Financial Rao” who observes the neighborhood’s happenings from his balcony and evaluates them in his diary. The eleven wise bureaucrats in the heart of the general secretariat represent a kind of higher force that puts all inhabitants into a state of fear and despair with their dispute over the introduction of Form S14.

Sarnath Banerjee (*1972 in West Bengal/India) studied media and communications at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He works as an author and filmmaker in New Delhi. Projects include “God’s left hand” (Film trilogy, 1999), “Hakim Tartoosi’s Potency Oil” (Animated film, 2004), “Corridor: A Graphical Novel” (Author und Illustrator, Penguin Books, 2004) “The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers (Penguin Books, 2007; also published in France). Banerjee is a 2006/2007 Akademie fellow.

Andrea Melloni (*1975 in Reggio Emilia/Italy) studied at the Arts Academy in Bologna as well as the Wimbledon School of Arts in London. In 2003 he founded cubificio.org, a website as a collaborative platform and art- and science laboratory. He is a 2006/2007 Akademie fellow.

A cooperation of the Akademie Schloss Solitude with the Literaturhaus Stuttgart.

Admission to the Reading 7/5/3.50 Euros
Tel./Reservations Buchhandlung Literaturhaus: 0711-284290-4
Literaturhaus Stuttgart, Breitscheidstr. 4, 70174 Stuttgart
The exhibition is on view until September 30.