I am a net artist that works between the UK and India on a number of multimedia/ digital projects.

The controversy about nungu is much larger than it appears here on the rhizome postings. The issue is simple: a british woman with lots of resources (aka $$$) comes to india, and under the guise of organising a "collective" of local net artists usurps projects and content, only to apply for grants later.

This is a serious issue - it introduces post-colonial dynamics into the net.art space and calls for some serious debate.

I am not convinced of Mark's statement that Rhizome has looked into the issue and all is well since I have received multiple emails from various friends and collegues about this. Artists working in the field both in India and in Europe seem quite outraged.

From what we gather, Beatrice Gibson is a UK citizen currently connected to Makul Deora, the son of a prominent politician in India. She has no background in the net.art field. More information reveals that she is also very well connected with the publishing world in the UK through a series of family connections.

The artist whose work has been lifted has no such access to clout and resources. This is why it is imperative that we don't just let this issue drift by but get to the bottom of it.

Incidentally, the same projects have also been sent to the Langois foundation by Bea (?) Gibson and have received grants as well…