Kochi, Jan 21: If the ongoing Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB)
amazes local and foreign visitors with as many as 100 main works by
94 artists, a critical share of the credit for enlivening the spirit of
the 108-day exhibition goes to a small but eclectic group that forms its
production team.
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| Biennale Production : The KMB '14 production team at the installation of Belgian artist Wim Delvoye titled 'Nautilus' at CSI Bungalow. |
Largely confined to behind-the-scene activities, their job is to ensure
that the spotlight is turned on to the artists and their works. It speaks of a
quiet activity that supports the Kochi Biennale Foundation which is hosting the
international show concluding on March 29.
The production team, which is on call 24x7, starts every morning at 8
am with routine checks on the installations. The works that run on electrical
supply, are switched on at 9 am, so that problems can be sorted in time for the
opening an hour later.
“We make sure that the visitor experience is memorable and since it is
not a gallery environment, the maintenance is high,” says KMB ’14 exhibition
manager Preema John, who joined the biennale after an arts administration
course on a Fulbright scholarship at the Chicago Art Institute. “But to give
that seamless experience would mean that they get no idea of the effort that
goes in at the back-end.”
Challenges come in many forms, but faulty electric supplies, dust and
humidity are a constant, and there are dedicated teams to sort out audio-visual
and electrical hitches. Some of the installations need constant attention; the
dust in Pakistani artist Iqra Tanveer’s ‘Paradise of Paradox’ needs replacement
every two hours.
“We got a special 25-KV line for London-based celebrity artist Anish
Kapoor’s ‘Descension’, but because of the voltage fluctuation, the whirlpool
now runs on a generator,” says Manu V R, who put his theatre-acting career on
hold to work with the biennale’s production team. “We try and fix any problem
within a 30-minute gap.”
Production team members Fahad T E, Vipin Dhanurdharan and Arjun R Nair,
who started as volunteers on the first edition, look like students with their
backpacks. But instead of books, their bags contain cello tape, glue, cutters,
screw drivers and a scale; tools for a biennale emergency.
“The wiring for the exhibition was done from scratch over nearly two
months,” says Fahad, whose enthusiasm does not seem to have waned a bit since
he started work here nearly a year ago. “It is a different space, and the electrics
have to support the spotlights, the high-end projectors for the video
installations, and the home theatre systems. That was a big effort.”
A few artists, like Pors & Rao have kept their own assistants on
standby in case of technical hitches.
Housekeeping staff spray the tarred paths along the Aspinwall House
venue with water almost every hour to settle the dust and almost every other
day, the team clean the installations under biennale director Bose Krishnamachari’s
watchful eyes. In some complex works, the artists themselves have provided
housekeeping materials.
“We use gloves, a soft brush, cloth and special oils provided by Ryota
Kuwakubo to clean the many elements on his ‘Lost’ installation,” says Fahad. “Because
the central piece, the train, is just 9mm big, even a speck of dust can disrupt
the work.”
Apart from making sure that the installations are shipshape, the
production team also always have an eye on the visitors to whom contemporary
art is still a new experience. “We are keen to make people understand and learn
to look at art,” says Shyam Patel, an engineering graduate from Gujarat, who
has returned for a second stint on the biennale. “It is heartening to see that
the audience are already better equipped to appreciate art after the first
biennale.”
The team, which is passionate about the biennale, values the learning
experience that the exhibition provides. “Each artist works in a particular way
and we imbibe things unknowingly and put it into our own practice,” says Vipin,
an artist in the making. “Benita Perciyal was very keen to keep the natural
integrity of her space at Pepper House, a heritage structure, when she created
‘The Fires of Faith’. Even the property owners were thrilled with how she did
it up. It was a lesson for us, as well.”
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