The focus of the project is centred upon the tropical imaginery and its histories. The tropics stems from Ancient Greek τροπή (tropē), meaning "to turn" or "change direction". In astrology, the tropics refer to a region of earth where for at least one day a year where the sun is positioned directly above. 

It is however better known for its hot humid climate and diverse biodiversity. And in colonial and contemporary imagination, it can be anything between paradise, abundance, diseased and a metonym of the global south entirely. A space so hot and humid that early encounters by Europeans was described as swelteringly incapable of thought - a notion that stubbornly persists till this day.

Hot House is itself a response to this colonial conception of the tropics, where heat and humidity is at the centre of the aesthetic and cognitive experiences within it. It is a paradigm counter to the cool and dry climate-controlled spaces of the modern Western museums and its politics.

Five Stories On Heat furthers this premise and is a storytelling performance that explores arts’ past, present and future relationship with heat. In particular, looking at the how climatic conditions plays a role in the production and exhibition of artworks from regions outside of the traditional West.