" For the Time being" at KMB '25-'26
I visited kochi muziris biennale in December 2025, which was almost towards the beginning of the arrangement and many of the venues were being organised with differing artistic displays under the theme " For the time being". I travelled alone and was also assessing myself alongside whether I can drive, posture myself as before and be physically asymptomatic after the journey. It was planned for two days and the stay was pre booked near the Naval area in Fort kochi. The displays were arranged in fort kochi and mattanchety areas and anyone healthy enough for a walk can view and enjoy the seaside ambience covering the venues.
I had enquired to the residents about the accessibility to the venues, transportation and food option on the day of arrival. I parked my car in the midst of all the venues equally accessible at Fort kochi and had a quick breakfast before setting out for the halls and buildings arranged with artistic displays.
Firstly, I visited Aspin wall from where tickets and route, with venues map were collected.
Paintings inspired by villages, people and life were displayed in different artistic forms as well as human movements in live performance and video displays. There were depictions of the progressive changes happening to the sea, beaches, mangroves, marine life which were showcased as floor patterns, wall hangings and material-based art works. The materials used were clothes, twigs, threads, and other minor-minute objects of daily living. Upcycling, upgrading and recycling of materials could be observed in majority of work.
Mix of culture happened since the time the Portugese and dutch arrived at Indian ports for trade. The structures and architecture of those times which remind us of our cultural and societal evolution were displayed. There were boats, clothes, sail, weapons, tools and many more of the foreign origin which later became the adapted and moulded articles. The relics from that era made me explore the missing history and links connecting the present situation.
My attention also caught images displayed of tools equipments, body parts of the human workers such as hand which sowed or sewed, legs on the sewing machine, emotions on faces during craftery. Most of the molds and articles showcased had different interpretations and also varied perspectives apart from the artist. They included sectors like film, construction, forestry, horticulture. ' MAI ', was an art form which required a long time to complete watching, the same like how it took time for their creation. There were paintings, demonstrations, videos, explanations of the artists perspectives and photos of the work process. They explained the intricate, detailed and patient nature of the works and I required longer time to observe and merge my understanding with the artist.
Mirrors, which provide stories; images, which etch memories; and reflections which are trials for corrections; the differing shaped mirrors of convex, concave, plane, irregular with different colours mostly golden and silver where our images appered wide, lean, distorted, glowy, pale and more shapes and shades, had stories to recollect in my mind. The images were not our body reflections alone, they were retrospections of our life journey, the paths we took, the emotions perceived and the plainly the bodily changes we underwent over the past years.
There was a room dedicated to the the NIPAH victims where cloth structures of demons were arrangedon the floor with simultaneous demonstration of the life course of the virus as a visual display with background explanation. Being a doctor, with real life experience with the disease condition, I was not interested in delving into its depth of understanding. The other displays were of a forest of Venus fly traps, a much needed plant during the recent times of disrupted biological life cycle, especially the entomological. I was taken back in memories to my school time where we studied on this plant's morphology and physiology. The attractions of the insects were it's nectar, odour and shapes. It also reminded me on my recent frantic search for the plant to control mosquitoes in my house, but ended up with pitcher plant.
Mathematics as an academic subject during our school time was always a nightmare for us, but when I started observing nature with practical guides who explained the interconnections of the subject with natural arrangements around us, it seemed more interesting to learn and less rigid about perfecting the learning. The nature perfections such as petal shapes, stem arrangements and symmetrical fruits and vegetables alongside the errors and assymetry were all amazing to internalise our understanding. Here the display was of mud structures in three dimensional manner so as to understand the geometrical scope. Mud had a imperfect perfection to it and the arrangements had explanations to be described by the artist as well as thoughts of understanding from me.
The next venue was walkable distance and I took a stroll enjoying the arts and crafts displayed on the pavement near the stores on the street. I took out the map and watched each step, so that I don't miss the nearest venue and I would not have to take my way back for the missed place. Two venues were one wall separated.one displayed the artistic works in golden thread like the kasavu workwhich documented the working pattern of the weavers. The displays were of human body parts such as an old-deformity struck hand or foot with prominent veins and protruding skin with underlying taut tendon or ligament. The work was named 'body looms' and also included documents of the workers such as pension book and work records. Another artwork was the location map on the floor indicating the buildings and spaces where the displays and demonstrations were situated.
The "pepper house" harboured the hidden, masked, unexpressed and unfulfilled wishes of souls depicted as hanging attires of females and males on a automatic moving mettalic rung. The remains of the body parts were holding musical instruments, microphone and music related accessories which played on their own. The view which we see is the moving clothes and metallic body parts with the musical background. My understanding on this demonstration was the expression of unfulfilled expectations of prematurely demised people and their souls trying to make themselves heard through the music played. Other than these, an electric operated, self typing typewriter was the centre of attraction of the room. The sound of souls, the music and the coordinated motion of the hung attires gives a feeling as if we had entered another dimension filled with young and vibrant souls.
There were also artists performing live movement and sound based work where the slow pace of the movements, flexibility, agility, postures and musical coordination were the aspects notable. I sat and observed the vocal sounds made of instruments and mimicking the sounds of nature which matches the motion of the artist performing on the ground.
With different thoughts and perspectives in my mind, I finally walked into the room of live concert where preparations for live performances were going on. I got a chance to do a trial vocal music while they were adjusting the volume, echo and frequency. But, I got excited and sung more lines than I usually hum jumping to the second and finally the third song. The outside of the this building was a space with dilapidated walls with creepers, climbers and cracked surfaces. On inquiring, I came to know that it was a space for live performances but which are yet to be scheduled.
I was really tired after this and retired to my homestay aftereating a heavy lunch. I planned for the evening, but understood that there were celebrations of christiand New year going on in the walkways. Moreover, the venues remained closed after 5pm. I walked with the vibe of the celebrations, enjoyed the seaview and had a light dinner. The planning never stopped in my mind as I had to complete seeing the art venues by the next day. I spread the venue map, marked each places visited, tried to understand the twisty-windy ways and mode of transportation to reach there. The sleep was deep and the mind was calm after day one.
The second day was more planned and organised. An early wake up, with the route and mode of transportation to be taken clear in mind, there were little to no confusions on where and how to go. My first destination was to the boat ticket counter near the boat jetty, the anchoring area and the departure-arrival area of short-distance cargo as well as human sea vessels. I understood that, there were no direct stop to Wellington Island, which harboured the first venue of the day. Then, I understood that the I had to reach another place to get ticket and move to the place where I was not sure that art display would be there. I dropped at few missed out places at Fort kochi. Some of the venues where under construction and arrangements were going on. I took a tour inside the work area and enjoyed sea view from those places where the sea could be seen with its vastness and beauty.
On entering one of the event building, I felt there was nothing to be seen, but a small board caught my attention. After reading it, I was led by myself to a room where there drawings of human figures in a series of emotions. There were sacks of daily life, construction and other remains in the form of plastics, clothes and other articles kept in a pattern to depict the socio-cultural and political narratives. The human figures drawn on the walls were shownas indifferent and unlinked turning their heads away from the socio-cultural and political scenario. The main figure was of a girl who was filled with emotions, bit slowly merging with the emotional indifference of others depicted as progressive wall drawing. The detailing of the drawing and the idea of sacks as the problems existing in the society were simple yet remarkable depictions of larger societal influence on the minds of individuals naive to the society with its inherent ways of tackling societal stress.
Finally, I boarded the water metro to Wellington Island and the warehouse venue. The water metro ride was new to me and I enjoyed it even if it was for a short distance. The stories of ships, Dutch sailors ,sea, parts of sunken ship, island rescuers' articles, miniature stone and clay paintings were arranged in the ship warehouse. It was different from entering a mouldy, cramped, non spacious but vast space of a warehouse. Everything was organised and neat. The sails, the ropes, sail harbour anchor parts, metal sails, wind waders were some of the parts of the ships displayed. Even the smallest of the structures were preserved and displayed well. The space to relax and release masked or hidden sorrows was arranged with recliners and a big screen displaying chnating of hymns. I tried to scream out my voicewith the background prayers. It was a trial to understand how tiny,weak voices with strong and good purposes get diluted with the harshness around, in this scenario which is the rough-harsh sea. Something which I remember while I jotted this was how the nature reasts according to our emotions sometimes. Most of us would have noticed, the phenomenon of uniform emotional expression. For example, when we communicate and translate anger and frustration, the nature reacts equally back as can be related at the macrolevel with events like tsunami, earthquakes. It is the same with animals and other living-non living things too. When one try talking to a plant or an animal like a pet, the expressions they bring out are similar to what we communicate with them, with their later attempt to change our emotions and concerns from bad to a good vibe.
I took the next water metro from Wellington Island to Mattanchery. The first place visited was the Jail of Freedom. It was an display and narration of stories and history of journey towards liberation of art. Each cell of an old jail was curated for a theme of art liberation and the artists and personnels who supported it. As we know the narrations and the journey of all types of liberation was long and I wondered how the limiited display could explain itself to its wholeness. The audience and observers maybe diverse with varying perspectives , understanding the artist behind the work completely or partially.
I had no intention to visit anywhere other than the event venues. But, when I reached Mattanchery,the first suggestion from the residents there was to visit the Mattanchery or Dutch palace. It was walkable distance and I reached the entrance where the bhagavathy temple can be seen. The premises were green with maintained grass and old trees. The stone-cement paved narrow path took me to the staircase which led to the interios. The ticket process was completed and I observed the interiors with the keen interest of viewing other royal relics and structures. They somehow evoke renewed understanding and realisation within me. There were utensils, pallaks ( human carriage), swords, clothes, beds, paintings and history charts. I took a quick stroll pacing past the other visitors. I hurried, so that I don't miss the event venues.
There were small, narrow paths with buildings converted to art displays zones such as wool works on canvas, giving a different dimension to the weaving, needle and thread use. The beauty of these works cannot be explained only by words. The pictures, depictions and stories of liberation were displayed in the form of paintings and videos. Caging, liberation and reflections were the hidden themes of some of the works such as the mirror of cage. The open cage, with broken mirrors, but not shattered pieces with the reflection from these regular sharp-cut mirrors reminding us of the personal and societal fights of various types of releases, liberation and salvation.
Other than general depictions, to give strength and thrust to the theme. The folk art and women attached to the art form were celebrated as individual portrays of photos, stories, narratives, history, audios and videos. The narratives and the liberation movement of suppression, religion and caste were also displayed with the surrounding supportive structures and materials matching the subtheme. There were postal cards and letters which missed the receiver or had never found the purpose they were send for. The audios, sounded weak but still strong in providing and spreading courage with their stories of survival and victory.
The sub themes of the main theme " For the time being" mainly whirle around art liberation, preservation of the art remains, narrations of art survival and conserving the relics to a molded form to give motivation and lessons to the audience, artists and art lovers. Each sub-theme had detailed, intricate and meaningful displays which gave me new ideas and perspectives. The incompleteness in certain works gave the wholeness in understanding of the effort and skill required to create, sustain and take forward the concepts adding resilience to varying situations and environment.
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