CAMP's Video After Video at MoMA Surveys Class Struggle Through the Lens

CAMP, an artist studio based in Mumbai, is showcasing its inaugural US exhibition, Video After Video, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York until July 20. This exhibition highlights three significant pieces that delve into themes of class conflict and the influence of cameras in a global context. The 2013 feature film From Gulf to Gulf to Gulf chronicles sailors transporting goods along historic trade routes connecting the Gulf of Kutch, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Aden, utilizing a hand-built wooden boat. It features footage from CAMP artists and sailors’ smartphone videos, depicting ocean vistas and trade activities in Salalah, Bosaso, and Mombasa, alongside views of affluent Middle Eastern ports. Khirkeeyaan (2006) consists of six episodes filmed in New Delhi's urban villages, using CCTV and cable TV to capture staged conversations on arranged marriages and labor. Bombay Tilts Down (2022) employs a 4K CCTV camera from a high-rise to observe Mumbai, documenting its environmental state, skyscrapers, and slums, while local poets perform Marxist songs at the conclusion of each 13-minute segment. The exhibition invites parallels to the later works of Harun Farocki, Chris Marker, and Jean-Luc Godard.