Pairi Daēza

Manhattan Projects, New York India Art Fair, New Delhi Single Channel Video Installation, Seamless loop, Silent, dimensions: 60" X 40", Flat Screen Monitor (size variable), Media Player pairi-daêza, or 'paradise' as we know it today, signifies a place of harmony and contentment, removed from the miseries and suffering of human strife. Across cultures and religions, the word evokes a state of bliss, an utopia. A literal translation of this word however, means 'to build a wall around', where pairi translates to 'around' and daêza, from diz, to 'build (a wall)'. This video, in its presentation of an apparent paradise, draws attention to this dichotomy - leaving the viewer with an oasis, that is ultimately just a mirage; an ephemeral, digital image.