Property of the People of Birmingham by Yas Lime delivers a surreal and deliberately confusing take on the idea of dystopia. It was made as part of a Digital Collaboration project on the theme of ‘Dystopia’ with new media project BLKBX (produced by Bengali artist, Nafis Ahmed). Dystopia is part of Transforming Narratives is a ground-breaking project to establish Birmingham as a leading international centre for contemporary Pakistani and Bangladeshi arts, for the mutual benefit of Birmingham and cities in Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is supported by Arts Council England and delivered in association with The British Council. Find out more about Transforming Narratives: [ Ссылка ]
The film aims to be both unsettling and reassuring at the same time. Part informational video, part live stream and part ‘a making of’ Yas uses archival images, screen recordings, movie clips and footage from nature cams to splice together their thoughts around dystopia. They also include three poems on the topic of freedom, written in response to the current pandemic by members of the Birmingham community. Yas Lime is increasingly interested in what is seen in verses and what is hidden within the arts – and how this contributes to a dystopian horror experience within the minds and bodies of those who exist within it. They hide and reveal the videos – layering sound, image and text from different sources.
Yas Lime is an artist-curator who lives and works in Birmingham. Their heritage is complex, Pakistani, Yemeni, Turkish Cypriot and Welsh. They are Brown, non-binary and disabled, living with ADHD and depression. They are also working class. Twitter: @YasLime Instagram: @Yas_Lime_
(Subtitles coming soon).
