Jigar
films by Alia Syed

Jigar featured three evocative and poetic films by Alia Syed, bringing together a significant body of work made over the last fifteen years. In Spoken Diary, a woman travels through a rainy London night, the city reflecting her emotional state as she documents her thoughts. Accompained by a poetic voiceover and tabla soundtrack, Spoken Diary has been specially edited for The New Art Gallery Walsall as a three screen installation. Swan, a two screen 16mm projection, follows the bird preening, swimming and preparing for flight, hinting at a deeper obsession with its sensual qualities. In The Watershed, a seemingly intimate exchange between two people gradually suggests a hidden narrative of power and pain.

Alia Syed’s films have been shown at Tate Modern, The National Film Theatre, the ICA and international film festivals. Jigar was her first major solo gallery exhibition.