Manchester Hermit
27 June - 5 August 2009
Artist Ansuman Biswas will live as a hermit in isolation for 40 days and nights in the Museum's Gothic tower. Cut off in the tower, from all physical contact with others, he will open a wide-ranging public debate via a Hermit's Blog.
Earlier this year, artists were invited to respond to the process of residing within and among the Museum's collection of four and a half million objects. They were asked to reflect on issues concerning biodiversity, climate change, extinctions and the future of the planet. Following over three hundred international expressions of interest, the selection panel chose Ansuman Biswas.
Born in Calcutta, Ansuman has a wide-ranging international practice encompassing music, film, live art, installation, writing and theatre. His previous experience includes spending time as an ornamental hermit in the English countryside, being blindfolded for two days in an unknown place, travelling with shamans in the Gobi Desert and living in a sealed box for 10 days at the South London Gallery.
Currently undertaking a period of research in the Museum, Ansuman is working with the collection exploring ideas around memory and extinction. Taking up residency on 27 June, he will be opening up a wider debate about why museums collect and preserve objects, whilst allowing species and cultures to become forgotten and extinct.
Accepting his residency, Ansuman said:
"It's a great honour to have been chosen for such an important position. I feel privileged to be amongst the gathered riches of the world and working with the people who care for these things. I see this role as a chance to channel the natural feelings of awe and wonder we feel at the incredible diversity that is around us, and a chance to celebrate the small, quiet things that are often forgotten. Amongst the many physical objects in its collection the Museum has chosen to value a spiritual activity. I hope I can live up to this important duty."
Click on the links below to see some of the press coverage linked to this announcement. Further details of the Hermit's residency will be posted soon.
The Guardian published 26.05.09