In their video installation The Hedge of Halomancy, Hylozoic/Desires excavate the lost archive of the Inland Customs Line. This was an immense barrier of plants that the British Empire grew across the Indian subcontinent in the mid-19th century to prevent the smuggling of salt.
In this short film, the artist duo (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser) explain how this hedge can be seen as both a poetic and a political space. It's a border that imposes slow violence, but it's also a garden of resistance.
They also tell us about their performance The Salt March, in which a salt-divining courtesan leads a procession of brass players dressed in re-appropriated East India Company uniforms through the galleries of Tate Britain. Inspired by the ubiquitous Indian wedding bands, this performance reflects on the legacies and entanglements of Empire and its colonies.
See the Hedge of Halomancy at Tate Britain until 25 August 2025: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/hylozoicdesires
Subscribe for weekly films: http://goo.gl/X1ZnEl
To license Tate films please email film.licensing@tate.org.uk