WHY_BOLC_WHAT_BOLC

The assertion that the relationship between art and audience has evolved into a multifaceted, symbiotic arrangement in the 21st century accurately captures the transformative impact of digital technologies.The digital age has indeed witnessed an elision of the roles of 'content creator' and 'consumer'. The democratization of production tools and platforms has empowered individuals to assume both roles simultaneously. This phenomenon, often termed 'prosumerism', has profound implications for the cultural landscape.

Never in history of image-making have there been so many sources of alternative “voices” and “views” about the “leakages”, “abuses” and “misappropriations” of power and authority, or about the “authenticity”, “depth” and “originality” of the “conversations”, “exchanges”, and “dialogues”. Never have these alternative “voices” and “views” been used so extensively and pervasively in representing themselves as “social movements” 

and “civil society”.

BOLC, aka, Bengalis of Late Capitalism, currently existing as a social media page, followed by an annual zine imprint, is in constant effort of documenting the evolution of cultural, linguistic, aesthetic and political sensibilities of the Bengali-speaking society at large in the age of late capitalism. It collects publicly available visual content which is either submitted by or sourced from its large set of followers and their individual information echo-chamber. BOLC categorically sorts them and then publishes them, keeping a thematic reliance on irony, parody, and intertextuality. It thereby creates an opportunity for viewers to deconstruct existing cultural codes, inviting them to question and lay bare underlying assumptions and power structures. By appropriating and re-contextualizing popular culture, iconography and mythography, BOLC engages in a form of cultural bricolage, facilitating the creation of new meanings through the juxtaposition of extremely familiar, yet defamiliarized elements, forcing a fresh perspective on post-truth Bengali habits and habitats.