For more than four decades, British Indian artist Sutapa Biswashas created thought-provoking works that challenge dominant historical narratives. Her practice examines the enduring legacies of colonialism through questions of race, gender, migration and representation. Her major new film project, Ballad of the Flowers, Chapter 1, turns to the botanical world to explore the complex relationships between nature, trade, power and empire.
The 15-minute, single-screen film combines dance, choreography, performance and poetic monologue. Filmed in Norwich’s Plantation Garden, it centres on a mysterious song shared between flowers, connecting botanical histories with the movement of people, materials and knowledge through colonial networks. An evocative soundtrack featuring Biswas’s own voice shapes the film’s atmospheric narrative, bringing questions of class, gender and power into focus through the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Drawing on archival records of the East India Company’s trade in plants and animals taken from India, the film brings botanical histories into dialogue with the writing of authors including Amitav Ghosh and Arundhati Roy. A second chapter is planned for filming at historic locations linked to the East India Company, extending the project’s exploration of botanical, personal and imperial histories.
Developed through the East Gallery Fellowship at Norwich University of the Arts, the film brought together staff and students from across the University, who contributed to costume design and construction, movement, choreography, acting and cinematography. This collaboration reflects the Fellowship’s role in fostering creative exchange across disciplines.
In 2026, Biswas received an Honorary Professorship from Norwich University of the Arts in recognition of her contribution to contemporary art and her engagement with questions of history, identity and representation.
