'Ear to the ground; eyes to the skies’, so seems to nudge the arty vistas of Aspinwall House in Fort Kochi as the flag of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB)-2014 was hoisted by curator Jitish Kallat at 12.12 minutes past 12 noon on December 12, Friday, to the cheers of a milling crowd of artists, enthusiasts, patrons and workers.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy formally inaugurated the second edition of the art and culture extravaganza later in the evening.
With the 108-day biennale opening, the Raj-era environs of the Aspinwall House have acquired fresh sinews — their freshly-cut arteries, though musty with smells from the past, blow into the art lovers a soaring spirit of exploration as they trundle their way through myriad works of art.
“I did not expect to have a shower of flowers from the flag as it unfurled. Similarly, as you unfold the art works here, it will hold meanings for you,” Mr. Kallat said after receiving the biennale baton from KBF trustees Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu.
‘Whorled Explorations,’ as he has titled the current biennale, is about the tremendous possibilities in a known sphere stretching between the outer space and the infinitesimally small atom that’s within life.
Logically, the exploration of art in Aspinwall House has a course, beginning with the 1977-film essay, ‘Powers of Ten’ by American artists Charles Eames and Ray Eames.
“The work is marvellous as it is remarkably encapsulates your curatorial vision for the biennale,” artist Vivan Sundaram told Mr. Kallat just outside the screening space.
“It’s been very clever of you to have chosen this as the first exhibit,” added his spouse art historian Geeta Kapur.
A smiling Mr. Kallat said the film, a preliminary version of which was made in 1968, six years before he was born, influenced him so much that he chose it to ‘infiltrate’ his thought into the biennale visitors.
Italy-born artist Francesco Clemente’s ‘Pepper Tent’ (and he would sure ask you to lie down to appreciate the ‘love’ paintings on the tent ceiling and walls); the colonisers’ portraits by artist Namboodiri; the photographs of knowledge by Dayanita Singh, ‘Undercurrents’ by Lebanese artist Mona Hatoum; and the charcoal drawings titled ‘Logic of Disappearance’ by Madhusudanan are among the several works that are ready. Several others are just getting in place. The main hall right behind the flag post takes a day or two for completion.
The biennale takes at least a week to get things in order.
Meanwhile, some four works are stuck at various places. Pepper House is full-show. Ditto with Cabral Yard. But already people are streaming in to catch a glimpse of art on the streets of Fort Kochi as well as in these worn-out warehouses.
The biennale is home again.
