7 Cities in 7 Minutes: A feminine paradigm of sensory art

Abstract

This paper explores the eight years in making the multisensory installation 'Streets of... 7 Cities in 7 Minutes', which uncovers the ancestral memories of three intersecting historical journeys (the Indian-European migrations, the Silk Road and the Transatlantic Slave Trade) as they unconsciously resurface in people's everyday life across the globe. The installation reflects the artist’s deep interest in the intersection between bodies, memories, urban space, and digital environments. It was presented in London and internationally as an experiential artwork composed of seven immersive environments made up of digital sounds and images, smells, tastes and artefacts of the places. By observing the role played by the body as ‘place in time’, the author reflects on the feminine paradigm of sensory cultural analysis in which the artwork is inscribed, as well as its role in the design of a hybrid space in which digital recordings, sensory perceptions and embodied cultural practices effectively challenge accepted stereotypical representations of ‘others’.