The joy of making a biennale

If the ongoing Kochi-Muziris Biennale has eminent artist Anita Dube as its curator, she had found critical hands-on support from her assistants Anushka Rajendran and John Xaviers. The duo began their assignment in May last year from Dube’s studio in the national capital, and went on to receive crucial back-up from the rest of the members in the production team.

Anushka and John worked closely with Dube in not just the travel and placement of the exhibits, but in finalising the artists as well. “We used to work at her Delhi studio with big layouts of each venue. The chief drill was to plan which artist will be slotted where — going by her curatorial note,” rewinds Anushka, completing her PhD in visual studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

 “And there will be these last-minute shuffling, alterations…” points out John, who holds a doctorate from JNU in cultural politics. The current biennale features work by no less than 100 artists. The host team had to understand well the requirements of the artists and make prompt arrangements. She speaks about South African Sue Williamson’s work, which has now turned out to be a big hit among the visitors at Aspinwall. “We knew she was going to recreate her older works for our biennale with new data and information. The work (One Hundred and Nineteen Deeds of Sale) required over 2,000 identical bottles with a specific style of engraving. We were told of it in advance, so it all went off well.”

Similarly, Australian artist Brook Andrew had recreated one of his earlier works, this time taking references from Kerala and its history. “Initially, we were planning to showcase one of his large-scale installations. But the space allotted was insufficient, so he suggested recreating the work,” says Anushka.

Adding to her point, Pavneet Pal Singh, coordinator – exhibition design & production, states the team has been “lucky” in some works too.  South African William Kentridge’s video work required a space which was like a black room. But the space allotted to him, has natural light seeping in from the roof in different angle. “We were a little apprehensive in the beginning because covering the roof would have meant the budget going haywire. But, it worked in our advantage because Kentridge’s production team loved the locale, stating the natural light was acting as an element for the work.”

The monsoon catastrophe had a telling effect on the biennale ideas of some installations. For, a few artists chose to change their work in a way that lent focus on the biggest Kerala calamity in a century. Bangladeshi artist Marzia Farhana’s work, for instance, ended up as a reflection of what she saw when she came to Kochi, points out Anushka. Adds John: “Jun Nguyen Hatsushiba’s was earlier just a video installation. Later a water element was added to it. That’s how people now walk into the waters to view the work.”

Jith Joseph A, Operations Assistant who worked closely with Marzia at the biennale, states the work was “therapeutic” for him, having affected by the flood. According to production manager Anil Xavier and coordinator Jayesh L. R., it gives them great satisfaction when the common people come and enjoy the works installed by them.