Christopher Kulendran Thomas's New Eelam at Spike Island

Christopher Kulendran Thomas (b. 1979) and curator Annika Kuhlmann present 'New Eelam' at Spike Island in Bristol, through March 24, 2019. The exhibition reconstructs a minimalist, high-tech furnished apartment that feels both familiar and alien, like a friend's newly decorated home. The project is a startup conceived to create a large-scale real estate market that challenges private property and nation-state boundaries. By subscribing to the New Eelam platform, users enter a network of interconnected apartments accessible to anyone, promoting a nomadic lifestyle. The installation includes a television screening a film about a new model of citizenship, and a corridor of sound and visual installations. Thomas, originally from Sri Lanka, references the city of Eelam, destroyed by civil war in 2009. The project uses Marxist theory and technological globalization to enact a capitalist resurrection of Eelam, embodying consumerism. It aims to deform capitalism from within, leveraging its resources as a challenge. The work questions belonging and domesticity, proposing citizenship as a choice.