A Feast Of Art

As the Kochi Muziris Biennale came to an end, on March 29, visitors, stakeholders, and participants give their impressions
Photos: Pavneet Pal Singh; Rahul Nair and Meenakshi Soman, Isi and Zehavit Orlev and Jineesh, NA, the owner of the Al-Hala restaurant
By Shevlin Sebastian
Without realising it, there have been gains for Pavneet. “My public-speaking skills has improved a lot, and I have learnt to deal with all types of people,” he says. But, mostly, the visitors have reacted gratefully. “That is because contemporary art can be difficult to understand so they need help,” says Pavneet. Not surprisingly, Pavneet is keen to take part in the next edition but, as he says, “Preferably,
in some other role.” Finally, when asked about the art work which created the most

impact on people, Pavneet says, “Raul Zurita's 'Sea of Pain'.” At that installation, you

walk across a foot-high sheet of water, inside a room at Aspinwall House. This is a poetic

metaphor about illegal migrants trying to cross over to Europe from Africa on rickety boats

through the Mediterranean Sea and losing their lives in the process.
Young and Creative Walking swiftly through the grounds of Aspinwall House are Rahul Nair and Meenakshi Soman, independent writers and documentary film-makers. For the Surat-based Rahul, this is his second visit. “I had come earlier in December,” he says. “But when I heard that the Biennale is ending on March 29, I decided to come again because I had not seen all the works. And it has been great so far.”

So excited was Rahul that, after his first visit, he informed his friends, While a few took flights,

several took the 32-hour train journey from Surat to come to the Biennale over the past three
months.


For the Kochi-based Meenakshi, she has come often. “The best time is in the morning, just

when it opens,” she says. “There are hardly any visitors and I enjoy walking around. Since the

works are so amazing, it has been a creative stimulant for me.”

Like, in the case of Rahul, Meenakshi's many friends from places like Pune and Mumbai

made he journey to see the Biennale. “They all liked it,” she says. “But they all agreed that

one day is not enough. You need to spend at least two to three days to see all the works.”
From Israel with love
(The New Indian Express, Kochi)