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By Shevlin Sebastian
On a recent sunny Monday morning, you would expect a sparse crowd at the 6th edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale, since it was a working day. Instead, a sizeable number of people – young, middle-aged and elderly – were milling around.
Near the entrance, on the left, against the wall, was the curator’s note by Nikhil Chopra.
Here’s an excerpt:
‘In an era where we are increasingly detached from our physical selves, we invite you to think with your bodies and feel with your minds. This is an invitation to engage in a radical sensory transposition: to smell with your eyes, touch with your ears, and taste with your fingertips.’
The theme is ‘For the Time Being’.
As you enter the nearest hall, the work of Assamese artist, Dhiraj Rabha, catches one’s attention. In a darkened space, petals and stems seem to be lit up by neon lights.
But a closer examination reveals historical materials and videos with former United Liberation Front of Assam members which detail the history of insurgency in Assam. You can also hear news broadcasts from the 1990s that seem to emanate from the flowers.
Another work that catches the eye is the massive 50-foot painting, ‘Wiping Out’ by Kerala artist RB Shajith. Shajith has focused on the forests of the Malabar region.
He has used oil, watercolour and acrylic and painted over wooden boards as well as canvas. He attached the brush to a long stick. This comes as no surprise because of the height of the work. But this also results in rough exteriors.
Shajith's message: these beautiful landscapes of ‘God’s Own Country’ are being wiped out in the name of development.
A silver-black-haired lady is looking at the works with a rare intensity. She is Nandita Jaishankar, who works with the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa.
“The works are impressive,” she said. “This edition has focused on the body and the practices around movement, while putting artist-led initiatives at the forefront. It's an interesting concept that Nikhil [Chopra] and HH Arts Spaces are working with. I know their work well since they are based in Goa.”
She added, “I'm familiar with some of these artists' works because we've overlapped in our festival over the years” She was impressed by the works of the Panjeri Artists' Collective Union of Bengal, a collective of 14 artists, across the visual arts, music, cinema literature, and music.
The main installation is a work about the elders of Habra, West Bengal. All of them are over the age of 75.
“Because of migration, in their lifetimes, they have sung four different versions of the national anthem,” she said.
These include: British India (God Save the King); East Pakistan (Qaumi Taranah); Bangladesh (Amar Shonar Bangla) and today’s India (Jana Gana Mana).
Nandita also liked Dhiraj’s work. "It is a striking examination of power dynamics between state and community," she said.
Nandita has – no surprises here – come for all the six editions of the Biennale.
A true art aficionado.
Another visitor is Nico Kaden, a German, who lives in Paris and works in technology. He is a frequent visitor to art exhibitions in Paris. On a holiday in South India, he heard about the Biennale. So, he flew to Kochi to have a look. “I’m glad I did. This is the first time I am seeing the works of so many South Asian artists at one location,” he said. “They are very impressive.”
Nico visits art exhibitions to enrich his soul. “Tech is soulless,” he said with a smile.
The ground area of this year’s Aspinwall House is a little more than one-third of what it was in previous editions. There is a demarcating wall. The remaining portion is owned by the realtor DLF.
“The acquisition of that section is under consideration by the Kerala state government,” said Dr Venu V, Chairman of the Kochi Biennale Foundation.
If it happens, the government will then convert Aspinwall House into a permanent cultural venue. Nevertheless, it retains its familiar charm.
The cafe is on one side facing the backwaters. The sea breeze blows constantly. People have a far-away look as they gaze at the waters.
It’s illuminating art on the water’s edge.
At the nearby Pepper House, one is immediately taken aback by the blue installation, ‘Yantra/Bloom 32°N’ by New-York based Assamese artist Utsa Hazarika. It is placed on the lawn and reimagines New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, which is an area of protest and solidarity.
There is a sundial which is at an angle of 32°N; this is oriented toward Palestine. The structure has been made using steel and mirrors.
In an inner hall, there are audio recordings of journalist Ravish Kumar speaking about the Shaheen Bagh protests in 2020, and student activists like the jailed Umar Khalid.
There is an audio in Oriya where people from indigenous communities talk about how they are being displaced because of bauxite mining. You can hear them speaking by wearing headphones.
Here is an excerpt:
“When they came to the village, they said we should leave this village.
This isn’t your village, this isn’t your forest, this isn’t your land. This isn’t your Niyamgiri.
This is the government's Niyamgiri. The government’s forest. The government’s land. The government’s village.
They beat us with a gun, and said they will detonate a bomb. They beat everyone from our village.
He told them, “Why should I leave? I am not going to leave. This is our village; we have our rights here. We have rights to our forest. We have rights to our hills. Why should we leave? We have not done something wrong or unjust. Why are you telling us to leave?”
One of the most astonishing works is ‘The Parliament of Ghosts’ by Ibrahim Mahama installed at the Anand Warehouse. The huge walls are covered with stitched jute bags. Sourced locally, it has the marks of bearing spices and grains.
Then there were numerous chairs, many of them which had been discarded earlier. Mahama said that these jute bags and chairs make us confront the colonial labour that built today’s economy.
Incidentally, these bags have a link to his country, Ghana.
They are the leading producer of cocoa, and jute sacks were used to transport cocoa from plantations to ports. During the Biennale talks and performances have taken place in this setting, living up to its name of being a parliament.
Finally, the Island Warehouse on Willingdon Island is a must-see. You can take an air-conditioned Water Metro from Mattancherry Island and the first stop is Willingdon. The 20,00 sq. ft. warehouse has several extraordinary works.
At one end, there is Serbian artist Marina Abramović's ‘Waterfall’. It is a multi-channel installation featuring the faces of 108 Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns chanting non-stop. The effect is that of a spiritual waterfall.
This is a most impressive Biennale exerting a powerful emotional pull on viewers. It needs a minimum of three days to do justice to this event. And for those who have not seen it, this is a beautiful and immersive experience that will change you as a person.
Don’t miss it.
(Published in O Heraldo, Goa)
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