Kochi-Muziris Biennale art to adorn Cochin International Airport wall
KOCHI: One of the biggest attractions of the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a massive natural colour mural by artist P.K. Sadanandan depicting a popular story from Kerala folklore, has now been installed at the new international terminal (T3) building of Cochin International Airport. Telling the well-known tale of the origins of the clans in Kerala “Parayi Petta Panthirukulam” was painstakingly created by Sadanandan and three of his colleagues over the 108 days of the Biennale from December 2016 to March this year using natural dyes extracted from stones, leaves, oil, sand and tree sap. No synthetic colours were used.
Top officials from the government and CIAL who visited the Biennale at the time had expressed the desire to find the 15mx3m mural a home at the newly constructed Terminal 3 at the airport. Among the champions of the idea were Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, former minister M.A. Baby and Ernakulam MP Prof K.V. Thomas who saw the artwork as a great symbol of Kerala to greet visitors to the state. “After the Biennale, we had meetings with V.J. Kurian, the MD of CIAL and other officials to complete the formalities to install the mural in the new Terminal 3. We facilitated their talks with the artist and offered logistical support for the installation,” said Bose Krishnamachari, the president of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF).
“CIAL is the fourth busiest airport in the country and a masterpiece such as this deserves to be installed here, as it conveys the idea of secularism and speaks strongly against caste-based discrimination,” he added. Sadanandan himself was thrilled at the idea that the work would be viewed by thousands of people passing through the airport every day. “I am happy that the painting will draw international attention from a world which may not always focus on art. The methods used in drawing this may have been ancient and traditional, but the message it conveys has much relevance in the present time,” he added.
“I hope that this relationship will give a fillip to the efforts made by KBF to place Kerala on the world cultural map. The last three editions of the biennale have produced many masterpieces. I believe, ‘Parayi Petta Panthirukulam’ is certainly one of them,” said V.J. Kurian IAS, Managing Director, CIAL. The work requires careful maintenance and preserving under certain temperature conditions and it might have placed a huge financial burden on the host. CIAL was a great alternative,” said KBF Secretary Riyas Komu.
