Karachi Biennale artists captivated audiences at London’s Land Body Ecologies Festival, demonstrating how music may transcend geographic boundaries to produce remarkable and widely recognized art.
The Karachi Biennale Trust expressed great delight in Pakistan’s participation in the festival in a press statement and stressed the importance of music in creating “unique and futuristic artistic expressions” of the highest international standards.
The festival brought together teams from India, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, the UK, and the Arctic to explore the deep connections between health and the ecosystem through various mediums, including performances, workshops, food, music, film, and storytelling.
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The path leading to the Land Body Ecologies Festival began before the Third Karachi Biennale, or KB22, which took place in November of the previous year. A Sindhi folk musician named Faqir Zulfiqar and a potter named Allah Jurio worked along with the artists collective Invisible Flock to create the Borindo, an antique wind instrument from Sindh.
The Borindo is a clay instrument that resembles an insect’s nest and is “known for capturing the emotions, sorrows, and joys of the people of Sindh.” These artists have played an important part in conserving and revitalising this tradition.
As per the theme, the team expanded the sound of the Borindo through technology. The resulting artwork, Microtonal, took the form of an interactive, data-driven sound sculpture created from 200 Borindos. The medium incorporated microtonal notes, clay, circuitry, generative sound, and performance. Invisible Flock, an award-winning arts studio at the intersection of art, technology, and the environment, crafted an immersive environment that prompted individuals to reestablish an emotional connection with the natural world.
