01 Feb Raj Bhandar (the Royal Treasure)

A interactive installation by Taiara Farhana Hoque from Bangladesh during the 8th Episode of Uronto Residential Art Exchange Program in Dubolhati Palace.

This work involves the thinking process of the local also invites other living things around the palace, besides human, like ant, insect what not.

Entering the palace gives you the sense of human presence. Their stark existence felt, seen and heard through the visual footprints they constantly leave behind. The palace is now a communal space. Entrance is not restricted and life is abundant in countless forms. No one left to collect khajna (Tax). And no sacred Raj Bhandar (royal treasure). Rather piece by piece each brick is repaying the jamidar’s debt. The one he owed everyone for decades of abuse and greed. From the village room to the palace, the movement of organisms around the space will define the work itself. The final act is for life and time to show us their magic in and around the work. When the jar opens and life enters, it will eventually consume the treasures inside.

Taiara Farhana Hoque is an artist, writer and an arts organizer from Bangladesh, who believes in the power of collaborations between art forms and people alike. Found objects, motion, sound, text and imagery, all have profound presence in her work.