Abhishek Hazra writes on his residency at PROGR

Abhishek Hazra, a visual artist from Bangalore is in Bern on a Residency at PROGR. [dated October 2007]

Abhishek Hazra, a visual artist based in Bangalore is in Bern on a Residency at PROGR from October to December 2007. His current body of work explores the intersections between technology and culture through the narrative device of a 'visual fable'. He is also interested in the sociology of scientific practice.

Abhishek participated at a panel discussion at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Zurich College of Applied Arts) recently together with Indian Ambassador to Switzerland H.E. Amitava Tripathi and Marianne Burki, Head Visual Arts Pro Helvetia. Abhishek showed and explained his work The Deictic Garland.

Abhishek Hazra writes to us from Bern:
"I have had quite an interesting time in Bern and Switzerland so far. My residency is based in PROGR, which is an exciting cultural space – it's quite stimulating to have various artists with very different practices working around you. People have been helpful in helping me orient myself here – particularly Katrien Reist and Diana Dodson. I have begun some of my archival work here at the Patent Office, which has some of the earliest records of European patent applications. I am still in the process of conceptualising a new work here, but most probably it will be in the area that I have been exploring currently – mainly history of science. I have been also visiting some of the other Swiss cities – Basel and Zurich. Yesterday there was a discussion on contemporary Indian art at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Zurich University of the Arts ) and I gave a talk on some of my recent work."