Amol K Patil is part of this years' edition of the Berlin Biennale, from 14 June - 14 September, 2025. 

About Amol K Patil's presentation

Amol K Patil approaches Sophiensæle’s early years as a space of intensive political and cultural activity during its time as the headquarters of the Berlin Craftsmen’s Association. He explores this through the “BDD Chawls” (Bombay Development Department): special architecture used as social housing for trade union workers in Mumbai. These buildings—known for their cramped living conditions and communal bathrooms—were originally constructed by the British in the early twentieth century to house poor male migrant workers who toiled in factories or mines. Chawls were important spaces of political activism, both during the colonial period and after India’s independence in 1947. B. R. Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution of India, lived here. The buildings were demolished and replaced by new ones several years ago as part of large-scale remodeling and upgrading projects.

Patil grew up near the chawls. His artistic affinity for sound and movement can be traced back to his fondness for the interlocking, noisy life there. His father belonged to the factory workers’ union and wrote experimental plays, which were performed for the union members in the 1980s. His grandfather wrote powada, a form of spoken word or rap, to document Ambedkar’s political uprisings against India’s abhorrent caste system. Although officially banned, discrimination against people based on their hierarchical position in the caste system is still a reality in India today. Patil seeks to use art to make the voices of the chawls’ former inhabitants audible again and reflect their collective character.

A radio plays fiery speeches, but then combusts into a cloud of smoke. B. R. Ambedkar, Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, and the workers’ movement itself are linked in the drawings on the walls. The theater of the social and its political dimension unfolds*.

*Text: Kito Nedo.

 

More practical information here.

 

Image: Amol K Pati, BURNING SPEECHES, 2025, video still © Amol K Patil

Publication date: 12 Jun '25