URBAN INK
KOCHI'S MUZIRIS BIENNALE
By Maheshwari V Raj
Ever felt the moment you enter those gates of an old building and losing yourself entirely to that period and being transported into space and time where nothing but the child in you rises again, That Is the experience I felt when I visited the 4th edition of the Biennale.
An international art event, Curated by Anita Dube, A member of the Radical Painters and Sculptors Association in the 1980s, Dube is the sum of her early training as a critic and historian. She later practised in photography and explored the possibilities in sculpture and installations. She believes The biennale is about creating a platform so that the art and people can claim and mould that structure in a fair way.
Dube's view on selecting this theme “Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life’ is therefore conceived in two parts: The exhibition, constructed as a symphony of ideas — synchronous as well as diachronous, with effect and matter of facts — as well as a discursive, performative, architectural space called the Pavillion where everyone potentially can be a curator. The Pavillion can be a space where there would be no hierarchies of who could speak and what could be said and in which language; the joy of listening, speaking — agreeing and disagreeing — and working through differences, contradictions and confusions together with visitors; a perfect site for pleasure and pedagogy. The ethics of ceding authority as a curator in this space can result in the eros of sharing”.
Some of the artworks that are worth a visit, “More sweetly play the dance” by William Kentridge Used as a film, drawing, sculpture, animation and performance, he transforms sobering political events into powerful poetic allegories. This immersive dance macabre includes skeletons, featuring a slow progression of shadowy figures to a haunting tune played by a brass band.
Cyrus Kabiru's series of works on view, 'C - Stunners' It features a collection of sculptural eyewear made by self-portrait photographs capturing him in his creations. Kabiru's work embraces Afrofuturism's transformative aspects. While Afrofuturism itself is not a new movement, these "afro-dazzled" glasses interpret the distinct aesthetics of their conception — a blend of science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction — as a way to interrogate the impact of modernization on Africa’s history and the imaginings of a future. By photographing himself wearing these glasses, Kabiru becomes a ‘blank slate’ upon which the ‘C-Stunners’ write unique, critical identities, from gallant and accessible to the sinister and the intimidating. These are portraits not just of Kabiru, but also of a new generation of African artists who “demand a face-to-face engagement.”
Song Dong's Water Temple is An extension of his process and ritual practice. The interactive sculpture allows us to meditate on impermanence and ritual in a shared, secular space as a metaphor for the processes of history, lack of communication and alienation in which we find ourselves, despite the differences between communities and politics.
Dude has managed to Featured 94 artists, this is probably the most political edition so far.
Everyone must visit this spectacular movement and let their inner child win and their imagination go wild. The artworks are spread across the city of Kochi making everyone visiting Kochi get the feel of the city just like local while you are hunting for venues. The Biennale is soon coming to an end by March 29th.
