Come to the Belly
to huddle together and read.
Come to the Belly
when you are looking for
something familiar within the unfamiliar,
to close your eyes and sit quietly,
to read something aloud,
to project your voice into the scape of the Summit,
to read languages you do not know how to read.
Come to the Belly of the Strange
when you want to ask ‘What May I be?’
These lines set the tone for the experience of Rupali Gupte and Prasad Shetty’s Belly of the Strange. The installation which was on display at the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) in February 2023, periodically activated itself as a reading corner, with this chant ringing across the summit. The bulbous form, colour and materiality of the immersive installation may tempt one to discuss the idea of form-making. However, it would be more accurate to look at it as an exercise in 'place-making.'
