Livestream
Kalanjay Dhir (NSW)
Captioned version of the work will play intermittently
Presented in association with Bus Projects and Composite
In 2017, New Zealand’s Whanganui River gained legal rights. Could the river running through Australia’s most populous city eventually be afforded the same agency and respect?
Livestream is an exhibition that explores the lived and spiritual histories of the Parramatta River in Sydney’s Western suburbs, speculating on the potential for an authentic relationship between First Nations people and settler migrants, connected by intersecting relationships to land and water.
Swimming through a history of industrial and urban waste since colonial settlement, Livestream responds to the accelerated redevelopment of Parramatta and gentrification occurring in Australian cities. The project also surveys the role that migrants, particularly in Western Sydney, have had in shaping the riverbanks.
Drawing on his own cultural experience growing up by the River, Kalanjay Dhir uses video, performance, and sculpture to map a configuration of water systems as vast information sites to communicate with future societies.
Livestream is supported by City of Parramatta Council, Parramatta Artist Studios, Bus Projects, Composite and the City of Melbourne through SIGNAL.
Kalanjay Dhir’s artwork Livestream is powered by Lūpa Media Player. More information at lupaplayer.com
Kalanjay Dhir is an artist and musician based in Western Sydney. His work draws on popular culture, sci-fi and spiritual texts. Dhir is interested in exploring mythological and speculative technologies through sculpture, video and internet objects. He enjoys thinking about what the world could look like if it were built with devotion.
In 2019 Dhir presented Matahari at Peacock Gallery comparing cosmic and personal interfaces and investigating devotional technologies. His first solo exhibition, Heavy Time(s), at Firstdraft in 2017 explored cyclical time and paradoxes in Hindu eschatology.
Dhir graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 2016 and has since exhibited and performed at Artspace, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Bankstown Arts Centre, Darren Knight Gallery, Tributary Projects (ACT) and Sister Gallery (ADL).
Kalanjay Dhiris a founding member of Pari, an independent artist-run space in Parramatta. Alongside DJ Atro, he hosts FBi Radio’s Wednesday Sunset show and throws some parties. In his spare time he likes to drink Milo, read Wikipedia and manga.