MUMBAI: Mythical accounts of India, the land of seven rivers. That’s the concept the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris biennale, India’s only biennale and one of the largest art events in south Asia, will be built around.
The event will run for 108 days, from December 12 to March 29. In all, works by 89 artists from across 30 countries will be shown, with the final list released on Saturday.
On the list, then, are Desmond Lazaro from the UK, Caroline Duchatelet from France; Wu Tien-Chang from Taiwan, Yael Efrati from Israel and Yuko Mohri from Japan, in addition to artists from Albania, Chile, Mexico and, of course, India, among other countries.
“The official curatorial title is ‘Forming in the pupil of the eye’, and the focus of this edition will be on what it means to be contemporaries, together in time,” says Sudarshan Shetty, the celebrated artist who is curating this edition of the biennale. “I want to engage artists whose practices will create works that exist not only for the duration of the biennale, but on into the time beyond.”
Some performance artists, therefore, will present work that evolves every day, “creating a continuous flow like a waterfall,” says Shetty.
{{/usCountry}}Some performance artists, therefore, will present work that evolves every day, “creating a continuous flow like a waterfall,” says Shetty.
{{/usCountry}}A core question also being addressed in this edition is the meaning of tradition, “not as a stagnant or historical thought, but as an active concept integrated within contemporary reality”.
“Traditions develop over time within the context of a changing yet continuous community, and as this is first and foremost a ‘people’s biennale’, the ideas of community and social engagement are embedded within the curation, with many of the participating artists presenting works motivated by political undertones,” Shetty adds.
This biennale will be a celebration of diversities because of its multi-disciplinary nature, adds Riyas Komu, artist and cofounder and programme director of the biennale. “What is special is that Sudarshan is not separating our traditional beliefs, performances and art from today. He shows how the traditional and the contemporary mix to create a melting pot.”