Biennale Dissolving Boundaries of Literature and Art, says N S Madhavan

KOCHI:
Kerala Sahitya Academy winner N S Madhavan said he was impressed with the way literature was represented in the Biennale as art, dissolving the conventional boundaries between the various forms of creative expression, as he made a last visit to South Asia’s biggest art event which drew to a close on Wednesday evening with a thrilling musical night by Thycudam Bridge.
Madhavan was among the prominent figures from Kerala’s socio-cultural and political circles who visited the Kochi Muziris Biennale 2016 on its 108th day. Other notables included Speaker Sreeramakrishnan and Kochi Municipal Corporation Mayor Soumini Jain.
“Literature was considered as the only medium that could convey thoughts, but the Biennale has made an attempt to capture thoughts through various art forms,” said Madhavan. “The boundaries between literature, painting installations music and other art forms are being dissolved at this festival of arts.”
The renowned Malayalam writer described the Biennale as a “whole universe of experience”.
“First we viewed art on a framed picture, then installations came as we walked into the art, and now the art work encompasses you, as music and as sound. Here in Biennale 2016, Chilean poet Raul Zurita has turned even water into art through his work Sea of Pain,” Madhavan noted.
“With the Biennale all the definitions of art are getting broken down. The viewer is left with the broad idea that conventional idea of art is no longer applicable; it is something not just to be seen, to be enjoyed, but something to be experienced,” he said.
On the curatorial progression of Biennale, Madhavan said the richness of the event had increased with each edition. “Bose and Riyas are the pioneers of Biennale in India, they brought the concept of Biennale to Kochi,” he said. “In the second edition Jitish Kallat, developed it, by representing the cosmopolitan nature of Kochi through his curatorial vision ‘Whorled explorations’, and now, Sudarshan Shetty in the third edition has made it a Biennale of ideas,” Madhavan said.
Kerala Legislative Assembly speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan, who visited the Biennale on Wednesday hailed it as a platform for artists to express their creative urges.
“Spaces that allow limitless freedom for creativity and artistic expressions are hard to find in the world, but the Biennale has lent space and freedom for artists to explore their deepest and truest expressions of artistic explosions,” said the speaker.
The familiar face of Kochi, Mayor Soumini Jain said Kochi has gained a lot from the Biennale. “A lot of small shops, restaurants and other amenities, and homstays in Kochi a
nd the surrounding areas have improved their profits with the coming of the Kochi Biennale, as there is a lot of tourist inflow,” said Smt Soumini.
Many visitors to Biennale on the last day said they were looking forward to the fourth edition in 2018.