Karachi Biennale 2022 winner Microtonal performed in London’s Land Body Ecologies Festival. The partnership between UK-based Artists Collective Invisible Flock and two artists from Badin, Pakistan, captivated audiences and showed how music can cross borders to create remarkable and internationally acclaimed art.
In a press release, the Karachi Biennale Trust applauded Pakistan’s participation in the festival, recognizing music’s capacity to produce “unique and futuristic artistic expressions” of the highest international standards.
The festival provided a multifaceted ecosystem through various performances, workshops, music, video, cuisine, and narratives by teams from India, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the Arctic.
Reviving and Enhancing the Borindo through Microtonal
Invisible Flock collaborated with Sindhi folk musician Faqir Zulfiqar and Allah Jurio, a potter and one of the last remaining manufacturers of the Borindo. These artists have been instrumental in preserving and revitalizing the Borindo, a clay instrument that reflects the Sindhi people’s emotions, pleasures, and sorrows.
The team utilized technology to augment the unique sounds of the Borindo, creating Microtonal, a data-driven sound sculpture composed of 200 Borindos. Using microtonal notes, clay, circuitry, and generative sound in the context of performance, Microtonal is an immersive experience designed to reconnect individuals with nature. The innovative project received the KB22 Engro Juried Art Prize. It was later showcased in London at the Land Body Ecologies Festival with the financial support of the Karachi Biennale Trust and the British Council.
Audiences were enamoured with the performance of Faqir Zulfiqar at the Wellcome Collective Inaugural Ceremony on June 21 and the exquisite tones of the ancient Borindo. Microtonal’s installation was exhibited at St Pancras Parish Church’s Crypt Gallery, where the immersive sounds of the art installation harmonized seamlessly with the unique acoustics, ambience, and architecture of the crypt.
Additional news input from Karachi Biennale Trust
