Poulomi Basu and Alona Pardo will consider Fireflies as a stimulus to delve into wider themes surrounding her exhibition – such as the contested notion of ecofeminism, the relationship between climate and gender justice and the post-colonial and post-human or other human space. This conversation will consider how Fireflies navigates the territory between the real and fantastical, to explore possible futures and the revision of history; celebrating the strength and agency of women.
This event will take place in the Fireflies exhibition and has a limited capacity. We will end with a question and answer session with attendees. Have a question you’d like us to cover? Email learning@autograph-abp.co.uk in advance with ‘Speculative Futures’ in the subject line and we’ll do our best to answer as many as we can on the day.
Free exhibition, 4 March - 4 June 2022
In her deeply emotive and powerful new series Fireflies, Indian artist and activist Poulomi Basu reflects on experiences of trauma – particularly patriarchal violence – navigating the claustrophobia of home, dreams of freedom, defiance, and transcendence.
has become widely known for her influential photographic projects Blood Speaks, Centralia, and To Conquer Her Land, to name a few. Her first photobook Centralia was published by Dewi Lewis in 2020. The book and exhibition won the 2020 Rencontres d'Arles Discovery Award Jury Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. Basu is a Sundance Fellow, National Geographic Explorer, and Magnum Foundation Social Justice Fellow. Her works are part of public collections, including Autograph, London (UK); Martin Parr Foundation (UK); Museum of Modern Art (Special Collections) (USA); Rencontres d’Arles (FR); Victoria and Albert (UK), amongst others.
is a Curator at Barbican Art Gallery, the Barbican Centre London. She has curated and edited several exhibitions and accompanying publications, including most recently: Masculinities: Liberation through Photography (2020); Trevor Paglen: From Apple to Anomaly (2019); Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing (2018); Vanessa Winship: And Time Folds (2018); Another Kind of Life: Photography on the Margins (2018) and Richard Mosse: Incoming (2017), amongst others.
Read Pardo's Curator Conversation on 1000 Words
Everyone is welcome at Autograph. We care about our visitors, staff, artists and community, and have measures in place to help ensure a safe visit for everyone. Have a look at our Visit Us page, it has full information about Covid-19 safety and accessibility at Autograph.
Poulomi Basu discusses Fireflies and her creative practice with Autograph's Bindi Vora
ReadArtist Poulomi Basu speaks with Bindi Vora to explore notions of trauma, self-care and worldbuilding in her work Fireflies
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Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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