First leg of ‘Trans-Indian Ocean Artists Exchange’ project to run concurrent to KMB 2016
Kochi, November
7: An ambitious
collaborative project, comprising works by artists from either side of the
Arabian Sea, will make its first run in parallel with the upcoming third
edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), starting on 12/12/16.
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| Dutch curator and artist Mo Reda is the project lead for the Trans-Indian Ocean Artists Exchange. He will curate an exhibition of the works by the two Emirati artists at Pepper House, Fort Kochi, starting 12/12/16. |
The ‘Trans-Indian Ocean Artists Exchange’, an
initiative by Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) in collaboration with Maraya Art
Centre, Sharjah, and Dutch artist and curator Mo Reda, aims to build on the
historical forms of traffic between Kerala and West Asia and explore the possibilities
of developing new forms of exchange based on contemporary art and culture.
As part of the four-phase project, Emirati
artists Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim and Mohammed Kazem are currently finishing a
two-month residency at Pepper House, Fort Kochi. This will culminate in a
display of their works at the Pepper House Residency Exhibition, which will run
in concurrence with KMB 2016.
“Each city, each place has its own feel, its
own atmosphere. Being in residency in Kochi has put me in touch with the spirit
and materials of the city. I feel like I have struck a friendship with Kochi. This
will be reflected in my work, which will be built of paper and rock,” said Ibrahim, a pioneering artist whose
work has been exhibited across the world, including in Venice, Bonn, Havana,
Cairo and Moscow.
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| Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim is currently finishing a two-month residency at Pepper House, Fort Kochi. This will culminate in a display of his works at the Pepper House Residency Exhibition, which will run parallel to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016. |
“Working in residency here has been an
opportunity to interact with the various elements of Kochi’s social life, the
movement of its people and its natural environment. Both my art practice and
project captures these elements and gives them visual context,” said Kazem, who
will show both an installation and photographs in December’s exhibition.
Kazem, who co-curated the 2007 Sharjah
Biennial, has presented his work in Venice, Singapore, Dubai, and Beijing.
In early 2017, two Indian artists – to be
selected from respondents to an open call that will be issued next week – will
make the return journey to Sharjah to work in residence at Maraya Art Centre. The
artists will research historical ties, current realities, and future
possibilities while looking back at centuries-long economical and cultural
involvement between the two regions.
The works of all four artists will then be shown
at exhibitions independently curated by Reda.
“Being in
residency while implementing a project naturally stimulates the exchange of
ideas and knowledge. The artists do their own research, exploration and have
their moments of serendipity,” said Reda, who is working with the philosophical
theme of ‘Solipsism’ for the Kochi exhibition.
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| Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem will show both an installation and photographs of Kochi at the Pepper House Residency Exhibition, which will run in concurrence with KMB 2016. |
On expectations for the project, KBF
Secretary Riyas Komu said, “The existing narrative is primarily shaped by Kerala
sending manpower to the Gulf and receiving capital in return. In this initiative,
we are looking to see how the situation plays out when the exchange involves
artists and the economic imperative is intercepted by an aesthetic imperative.”
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