There were 40 ships that brought indentured labourers from India to Fiji at the turn of the 19th/20th Century under colonial rule. They travelled from the Port of Kolkata to the Pacific bringing workers from villages and towns via staging posts such as Varanasi.
Made in Kolkata and Varanasi by the river Ganges, incorporating moving and still image, the new work 40 Ships has been made alongside Kikau Street- retracing my ancestors' early journeys across the Asia Pacific and linking India with her globalised diasporic communities in the Pacific and beyond.
The recent development of 40 Ships has been made possible through an Asialink artist residency in India, supported by grant funding from Arts NSW.