‘Biennale is a place to look at life with insight, inquiry and curiosity’: Anand Gandhi

Noted filmmaker said KMB is a growing movement that is shaping global and local communities

Kochi, Jan 28: On his first visit to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) in 2014, filmmaker Anand Gandhi was surprised to find a familiar work in exhibition: the iconic 1977 film Powers of Ten.

“The short piece of cinema had helped shape our perspectives as filmmakers. To see it here in Kochi was wonderful. Now, I'm always looking for that spark of magic: to be surprised, to be shocked, to be forced to look at things in ways I hadn't previously considered,” Gandhi said.

Noted filmmaker Anand Gandhi and actress Kani Kusruti at Aspinwall House during their visit to KMB 2016

On a visit to KMB 2016 last week, the Ship of Theseus director noted that the Biennale is a place where “insights, inspirations and epiphanies” are shared. “This is the reason I am back here again: to look at life with insight, inquiry and curiosity. This is a deeply inspiring place,” he said.

This inspiration has spread to the local communities, the National film award winner observed. “Each time I'm here, I get the sense of a growing movement. How this space has provided an opportunity to people from this part of the world who would otherwise not been able to interact with its insights and playfulness,” he said.

Noted filmmaker Anand Gandhi and actress Kani Kusruti at Aspinwall House during their visit to KMB 2016

“The impact a movement like this has on global and local communities: it will expand the scope of our language, our know-how, our ways of understanding and it is going to inform our lives. I'm seeing that there is a progression and growth in that aspect between editions,” he added.

Noting that “we are all cartographers of time, reality and space working with shared maps”, Gandhi said, “The Biennale is a place where this sharing is going on. Each time I come here, I leave with enough to sustain me till the next time.”

Gandhi singled out the work of eminent litterateur and KMB 2016 participating artist Anand – titled Map-Makers and Map-Breakers: Space-to-Time along the Maps – as being particularly in sync with his view about the “politics and distortions of cartography and how distortion is unavoidable in cartography”.

Inspired by the Biennale’s spirit of involvement, Gandhi said he was hoping to “contribute to the conversation in some small way”. “I would love to come back here and share with the community the virtual reality experiences we have been creating over the past year,” he said.

Vintage cars roll into Biennale for Republic Day rally

Kochi, Jan 28: It was a trip down memory lane for visitors at Aspinwall House on Thursday as a fleet of classic rides and rods pulled into the primary venue for the ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).

A total of 22 vintage cars rolled through the city streets – starting from Panampilly Nagar and ending up in Fort Kochi, where they stood on display for an awestruck crowd. The rally and exhibition was organised by the KMB in association with Cochin Vintage Club as part of Republic Day celebrations at the Biennale.

Vintage cars exhibited at Aspinwall House, main venue of Biennale, organised as part of Republic Day celebrations by Cochin Vintage Club in association Kochi Muziris Biennale

The head-turning line-up featured the 1946 model of the legendary Austin 16, a 1955 Dodge rover, a red hot Triumph Herald besides a sampling of Fiat, Ford and Mercedes Benz beauties. There was even a 1957 Hindustan Motors Landmaster, the fore-runner to the Ambassador.

“The preservation of vintage cars is our main objective,” says Rinesh Ravi, President of Cochin Vintage Club. “Over the years, the Biennale has upheld the importance of heritage preservation, which strikes a chord with our policy. It was this common trait that made today’s collaboration possible,” Ravi said.

“For us, these cars are works of art. A lot of effort and heart has been put into the preservation and maintenance of this precious collection. The process of getting these beauties back into road shape is comparable to putting up an installation,” he contended.

Besides the cars, there were five motorcycles also on display. These included a Jawa, a Yezdi and a Rajdoot. An awareness campaign offering guidance on road safety measures and driving manuals was also conducted as part of the rally by Junior Chamber International Cochin Metro.

Vintage cars exhibited at Aspinwall House, main venue of Biennale, organised as part of Republic Day celebrations by Cochin Vintage Club in association Kochi Muziris Biennale

“We are happy to associate with Cochin Vintage Club and show solidarity with their concern for the upkeep of and maintaining interest in heritage cars and bikes. These proud automobiles are an integral part of history of machines,” said renowned artist Riyas Komu.

Prior to the rally, there was a flag-hosting ceremony to mark Republic Day. KMB co-founders Bose Krishnamachari and Komu along with Kochi Biennale Foundation General Manager N.P. Kurien and KMB 2016 participating artist P.K. Sadanandan helped unfurl the tricolor at Aspinwall House.

‘Biennale is poetic, slow and subtle’ : Dayanita Singh

Acclaimed photo artist said multiple visits were required to get KMB 2016 to reveal its vision

Kochi, Jan 27: For Dayanita Singh, the ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) requires repeat visits in order to truly appreciate its ‘poetry’ and subtlety. 

Dayanita Singh at Daniele Galliano's space 'Bad Trip India' during the visit to  KMB 2016 main venue, Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi.

Following her second visit to KMB 2016 this week, the renowned artist said the Biennale was “how art was meant to be exhibited”. “This is a very poetic, slow and subtle Biennale. It is not in your face, it’s something that stays with you. This is what I love about the KMB,” Singh said.

An acclaimed photo artist and image-maker, Singh had been to the Biennale shortly after its opening on 12/12/16. Following her tour of Aspinwall House, she noted that a third visit would be needed if she wanted to see the evolution of the artworks over time.

“I am fascinated that this Biennale has thrown up so many works that just linger in my mind when I travel. You have to keeping back to it. The last time I was here, I would go to Sharmistha Mohanty’s room as a way of slowing myself down and then end up on the benches at Camille Norment’s space. This was my parikrama,” she said.

Dayanita Singh at Prabhavati Meppayil's installation 'Melting Pot' during the visit to  KMB 2016 main venue, Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi.

It takes this investment of time and energy to coax the Biennale’s vision to reveal itself, Singh observed. “It’s not like ‘these are the great artists’ or ‘these are the great works’, which is a big relief. Of course, there are aspects that you would like more of and some works you want to keep coming back to,” she said.

“What holds it all together is Sudarshan Shetty and his vision. If you think of this Biennale as a large work that comes from within his mind, then it is absolutely fascinating,” said Singh, who was a participating artist at KMB 2014.

“Having an artist as the curator is what makes the KMB so unique. An artist-curator is very different from a curator and I see that at this Biennale because I really feel the different aspects to Sudarshan’s thinking in the works that he has selected,” she said.

‘Perspectives, ideas at Biennale can be adapted to film’: Priyadarshan

Veteran filmmaker termed his first visit to the Biennale on Saturday a ‘learning experience’

Kochi, Jan 23: Observing that an interesting frame can be found anywhere provided one perceives it as such, celebrated filmmaker Priyadarshan said the variety of perspectives and concepts at Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016 can be adapted to film.

Filmmaker Priyadarshan at artist Istvan Csakany's installation 'Ghost Keeping' at KMB 2016 in Aspinwall House,Fort Kochi 

A favourable shooting schedule meant the director of more than 100 films across industries and languages was able to visit the Biennale for the first time on Saturday. He termed it a “learning experience that satisfied the artist in me”.

 “As a filmmaker, I think many of the ideas are adaptable in terms of medium. When I was going around and looking always at the points of view expressed by different people on similar issues, I asked myself why I didn’t think about this. This is also something we can show on screen and there were several things I thought I should try in my films,” Priyadarshan said

“Expressions of creativity are like the sea or the sky: there are no limits. There are things I understood and others that I did not, but I appreciated the aesthetic sense behind the Biennale. Unlike the boring spaces in art galleries, the KMB is the venue for these expressions,” he added.

Singling out the photography of KMB 2016 artist K.R. Sunil, Priyadarshan said, “I never thought Kerala could be shot like this. Looking at his stills of Ponnani, I felt that I had to go there immediately and find a story around the town. The looks and the ways he has framed it and the realism and story behind each photo was inspiring.”

‘Artists’ Cinema a platform for serious works’: Joshy Mathew

Award-winning filmmaker Joshy Mathew also visited the Biennale recently. Besides the works on display, he appreciated the Kochi Biennale Foundation initiative to screen serious films as part of its ongoing ‘Artists’ Cinema’ series at the Pavilion in Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi.

Filmmaker Priyadarshan with Kochi Biennale Foundation President Bose Krishnamachari at Subrat Kumar Behera's installation 'Mythological Paradigm Prophesied' at KMB 2016 in Aspinwall House,Fort Kochi

“For filmmakers, the initiative provides a platform to promote serious Malayalam cinema in front of an international audience. Moreover, we can market our films more intensively in the international film festival circuit after being screened in such an internationally acclaimed art festival like the Biennale,” said Mathew, whose film Black Forest won a National award in 2012.