non-paradise is a meditation on deserts. It compares the myth of the desert as an absent place with white noise, the presence of all frequencies on a spectrum being simultaneously received by an interface. Drawing parallels between white noise and social hostilities toward the desert landscape, the film reflects on the artist's ancestral migratory heritage, colonial notions of the Other, and Islamic conceptions of paradise.

Filmed on unceded lands at Sandy Point, South Gippsland.

Artists
Nasim Patel

Videographer
Simon McWilliam

Composer
Hanif Patel

Mridingam/Ghatam
Siddharth Adityan

Special thanks
Jason Pearce, Rachael Wisby, Matt Cornell, Sakina, Naseera Naeem and James Smith

Facilitated through Critical Path’s digital and choreographic exchange program curated by Matt Cornell.