Agat Sharma
Agat Sharma is a theater maker and multidisciplinary artist from India and currently based in the Netherlands. Despite the onslaught of hegemonic forces such as colonialism and western modernity he feels the persistence of an essential and evolving relationship with land—one that always defines the body in relation to the world. Body not as a boundary but as an ongoing entanglement. He is greatly inspired by ‘folk’ performances he saw during his childhood and finds his practice as a continuation of that aesthetic and intellectual legacy.
“The sudden and untimely death of David Attenborough is a lecture-performance and obituary for the voice of the British nature documentary presenter Sir David Attenborough. In the work, Attenborough, now in the afterlife, finds himself lost on a tropical island. Despite having spent so much time making films in the wild, he is unable to find a way out.
At the International Art Talent Festival, I present the piece as a study and ongoing research. Developed through close analysis of Attenborough films, particularly early works such as Zoo Quest (1954) and Miracle of Bali (1969), the project examines the politics of his voice. It furthers my investigation into how our relationship with nature and land has been shaped by colonialism and modernity.”