<p dir="ltr">In creating the film, Mohini continues her work with the <a href="http://www.shipsproject.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ships Project</a> team at Plymouth Archaeology, with whom she’s been collaborating on her current work, ‘<a href="https://mirrorplymouth.com/whats-on/mohini-paradise-lost" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paradise Lost</a>’, being shown at <a href="https://mirrorplymouth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIRROR</a> at Plymouth College of Art from 31 August until 6 November 2021, which explores the shipwrecks of Devon and Cornwall and examines colonial histories of indenture and slavery.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mohini said, “‘Tell Tales and Wonder Rooms’ will draw upon the oral histories of amateur divers among their personal collections, with first hand accounts and footage of diving.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Ships Project are already in close dialogue with local divers, and they are a rich source of vernacular collecting histories. For me, these stories and collecting activities represent a particular and very personal relationship between the city and its maritime history, as well as, through the global nature of collected ‘exotic’ artefacts, the wider world.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/students-and-family/arts-institute-public-programme/the-arts-institute-film-commission" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arts Institute Film Commission</a>, now in its fourth year, tasks the chosen filmmaker with using archive material from <a href="https://www.theboxplymouth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Box</a> to reflect on the experience of living in the South West, challenging them to explore innovative ways of animating the archive and increasing awareness of and accessibility to the film collection. Through it, The Box aims to build a body of work that reflects on Plymouth’s film heritage and looks towards its future.</p> <p dir="ltr">Describing the work as a ‘poetic and experimental montage film’, Mohini said, “‘Tall Tales and Wonder Rooms’ will interweave oral histories and collection/location shots with footage from the Film Archive. The film will also explore the arrangement of objects within amateur ‘Cabinets of Curiosity’ whether housed in a boat-yard, garden shed or spare room.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“These ‘Wonder Rooms’ represent a singular passion for shipwrecks and collecting, reminding us that Plymouth is a vast archaeological site, with many as yet uncollected narratives emerging from a variety of sources, linking our locality irrefutably to the rest of the world.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Mohini has exhibited widely since graduating from the Royal College of Art, including in New York, Sydney, Auckland and London, and her work is held in international collections in the UK and USA, including the UK’s Arts Council Collection. She’s previously been awarded funding by the Arts Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Australia Council, Asialink and Arts NSW among others, and has worked extensively in India and the Pacific in the past, tracing her ancestors’ journeys as indentured labourers under colonial rule.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Exhibitions Coordinator for the Arts Institute, Mary Costello said, “We had a great response from the film-making community for this, our fourth annual Arts Institute Film Commission. Mohini’s body of work hugely impressed the selection panel, reflecting a passion for oral history and tradition, particularly in relation to the South West and its connection to wider histories. We’re really excited to see how ‘Tall Tales and Wonder Rooms’ brings to life some of these iconic themes - and for audiences to share in that experience.’</p> <p dir="ltr">The Arts Institute Film Commission takes place annually in celebration of its partnership with The Box. The film will premiere on 6 December at the Jill Craigie Cinema at University of Plymouth. It will coincide with The Arts Institute’s autumn theme of storytelling, and a major exhibition across The Institute and The Box.<br /></p>