Artist Christopher Kulendran Thomas’ New Eelam project is one that aims to open up questions about how and where we live. Kulendran Thomas ponders ideas of citizenship: the name New Eelam comes from the Tamil name for Sri Lanka, and the Tamils’ attempt to establish a new state, Tamil Eelam, which failed when they were defeated in Sri Lankan civil war. That made Kulendran Thomas think about citizenship: is there a future where that idea is detached from enclosure within national borders? The project, which takes the form in this exhibition of a concept room at Tensta Konsthall, also tries to examine the living spaces of the future. Could we imagine a system of homes, and living spaces, flexible and flowing, but removed from the deprivations of the private market, a kind of luxury communism approach to housing? It’s hard to capture the scope of it in a few words, so you’ll have to get to Tensta to explore it for yourself.
Tensta Konsthall, On display until Jan 14
Photo: Jean Baptiste Beranger
