Kochi-Muziris Biennale: World of art comes to Kerala

The latest edition of the biennale is based on the theme, ‘In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire’, curated by Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao

88 artists, over 200 projects spread across heritage properties, warehouses, galleries and public spaces in Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, and Ernakulam; dozens of collateral programmes, workshops, discussions, films shows, various cultural activities and much more. The fifth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale, at Kochi in Kerala, which was deferred for two years due to COVID-19 pandemic, is a unique amalgamation of contemporary art, attracting thousands of people every day.
Kochi Muziris Biennale has been able to breathe an air of new aesthetics, secularism and warm solidarities because of the specificity of the site, said Bose Krishnamachari, President, Kochi Biennale Foundation.

Bose Krishnamachari and Shubigi Rao

Formally opened on December 23, 2022, the latest edition of the biennale is based on the theme, ‘In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire’, curated by Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao. This edition of the biennale examines how we survive, through song, materiality, joy, humour, and through language, whether written, verbal, or oral, she said. 
“After the states of fear, trauma and uncertain limbo of the pandemic years, it may seem strange to call for joy. Where is this optimism? Perhaps we can sense it more tangibly in artistic and collective work, especially in regional or particular contexts and forms, of the artists gathered here, in this Biennale,” according to Shubigi Rao. 
Contemporary artists from different parts of the world, including world-renowned new media artists, are part of this event that reflects a cross-section of today’s art world, at the same time taking the viewers to the burning socio-political issues.

Homi K. Bhabha watching Vasudevan Akkitham's works

The various artworks on display at the Kochi Muziris Biennale take viewers to a completely unparalleled artistic world where they could experience a wide range of common issues affecting humanity depicted creatively in a minute execution of details, according to Homi K. Bhabha, a scholar of postcolonial studies. “The main highlight of the Biennale is the depiction of big issues faced by life in different parts of the world in great detail,” he said.
From ecology and women’s right to the concern about fascism and the political struggles the world around, the Biennale presents a wide spectrum of works that reflect the life and times of the world we live in. 

Embassy

‘Embassy’, the installation set up by noted Australian artist Richard Bell, as a symbol of the resistance of the Aboriginals, at Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi, is one such work that is attracting many people. It has been created by putting up a tent outdoors, and it reflects a theme that brings to light the discrimination and exploitation faced by Australia's aboriginal population even after the colonial period and calls for the defense of the aboriginal population all over the world on a global scale.

‘Women’s Public Life’, by Nepal Picture Library

Another work, ‘Women’s Public Life’, prepared by the Nepal Picture Library, explores the story of women empowerment in the Himalayan nation of Nepal. Showcased at Pepper House, this work enables the audience to have a historical glance at how the call for presence in the public sphere has contributed majorly to women’s empowerment in Nepal. 
‘Such a Morning’, comprising an 85-minute film accompanied by a set of letters, by Delhi-based artist Amar Kanwar, is another interesting work, which is a metaphysical response to our contemporary reality.
The set of 365 small paintings, ‘An Almanac of a Lost Year’, by eminent artist Vasudevan Akkitham, was done during the Covid-19 lockdown period. This Pandemic Diary of the artist was done continuously for 365 days, with one painting each day, said the artist.

Workshops
As part of the biennale, which would be on till April 10, many workshops are also organised. The three-day terracotta-making workshop, ‘Living Heritage’, provided a rare opportunity for people from various walks of life who were passionate about creativity but never had an opportunity to experience it first-hand. Another one, ‘Neela - A Fiction in Blue’, was on the unique techniques for different art creations and it was led by prominent contemporary artist R Hariprasad. It dealt with the art of collage-making while seeking the possibility of movement in it to finally create a motion picture through various technical processes. Another workshop, ‘Puzha Ozhukatte’ (Let the River Flow), was held at Innuneeli Memorial Library at Poonkody, Chalakkudy, as part of the Remote Programme of the Art By Children (ABC) initiative. In the ‘Comics Workshop’, organized as part of the Art Room programme under the ABC initiative, noted cartoonist, animator, and filmmaker Bharath Murthy said the comic culture should move beyond the boundaries of political satires.

From the terracotta workshop 

Further, there was a five-day film appreciation camp, ‘Kappirimuthappanoppam’, in which classes were held on different subjects apart from the screening of films from various movie genres.
Invited exhibitions
Some of the important programmes as part of the biennale include Students Biennale, ‘Idam’, an exhibition by eminent artists from Kerala, and invited art exhibitions, among others. 
Conceptualized by well-known artists Jiji Scaria, Radha Gomathy and P.S. Jalaja, ‘Idam’ which is on at Durbar Hall Art Centre, has 200 works of art created by 34 contemporary Malayali artists, including 16 women artists.

Children at work

There are many invited exhibitions, including the ones curated by Jithish Kallat and Tanya Abraham. Some of the works are presented by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Another interesting invited exhibition is ‘The Communities of Choice’, which is a lens-based project on identity and belonging by artists from India and Wales, organized by the Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation and FfotoGallery, supported by India-UK Together (British Council), Season of Culture Program.
A biennale can be so much more than a mere accumulation of coincidental collisions, says the curatorial note. “To envision this biennale as a persistent yet unpredictable murmuration in the face of capriciousness and volatility comes from my unshakeable conviction in the power of storytelling as strategy, of the transgressive potency of ink, and transformative fire of satire and humour,” it said.

Velammal students to participate
A team of students from the institutions under Velammal Educational Trust (VET) and also a former student of our institution, Vetrivel, who is a young passionate artist deeply interested in photography, will also showcase their works as part of an exhibition in connection with Kochi-Muziris Biennale from January 28, at Hallegua Hall-Palette People Gallery & Artists’ Studio in Mattancherry. Also the students will participate in various workshops and participate in a guided tour later.