Sounak’s ‘Networking Realm’

Sounak Das, a young artist based in Bangladesh, chose to narrate sound and its reaction through his installation titled "Networking Realm" as a basis of his artistic practice through media in this year's Dhaka Art Summit.

Believing that nothing is absolute and in everything lies a probability, Sounak asked these questions through his work – is it possible for information to travel without electric wires? Moreover, does the stimulation of sound makes any reaction somewhere else, or not?

He said, "Visuals used in this installation represent time, whereas the sounds represent the idea of that time. This installation puts an idea to look at the world from an associative and interactive angle."

Being an admirer of arts and technology, Sounak tries to experiment with both the subjects in his works. He is interested in interactive art and likes to hack together VR (virtual reality) and AR (Augmented reality).

His work at the Dhaka Art Summit was installed in two sets – one was the action, the other was the reaction. Illuminated from inside, a small pyramidal version from the installation was an unaccustomed illustration, which often made the audience curious about the project.

About response from visitors, Sounak said, "Confrontation and fear were the primary reactions of visitors when they looked at the installation. It had an interactive set-up with a puzzle, which they feared to confront. But once they went through the process of solving it, they found it interesting."

Sounak's artistic practice deals with space, community and the spiritual connection of social and political reality. Highly inspired by technology, he experiments on light with forms and patterns, sounds, interactions and perceptions. He is interested in philosophy as well, which inspires him to think about his presence and surroundings.

Growing up in a city like Dhaka taught him a lot about perception. Therefore, in the realm of his work, photography is a purpose to archive his reality in Dhaka. "Stillness, darkness, silence and the chaos of Dhaka are subjects of my photography. To me, the electric wires in Dhaka represent the entangled city, and the knotted life of its dwellers."

Sounak has produced, worked and collaborated with various artists on numerous projects using VR, installations, performance art. He has also worked on various film formats, documentaries, art films, commercials and after-movies.

The loss of his father in 2012, which was accompanied by rituals in the Hindu religion, drove him to explore spirituality and ritualistic practices more deeply. He makes portraits of Hindu religious leaders as an act of documenting his own experience with the spiritual practices.

Interested in performative art and multimedia, Sounak would like to continue with collaborating different art forms and technology in his works in future.