Kochi Biennale to showcase Chittrovanu Mazumdar's installation

Internationally-acclaimed French-Bengali artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar will present a site-specific installation at the upcoming third edition of 'Kochi-Muziris Biennale', scheduled to be held from December 12 to March 29 next year.

In response to Sudarshan Shetty's (Artistic Director and Curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016) vision for the 2016 Biennale, which draws from mythical accounts of India as the 'land of seven rivers', Mazumdar's installation will consider the elemental force of water as it appears in the human psyche and the surrounding environment.

In his large-scale installation, spanning several rooms, the viewer exists at the centre of this enquiry, finding himself or herself in the middle of a series of choices. The backdrop to these choices is a constant, low hum symbolising the unknown.

The artist portrays water as a space of transition, existing in stories and myths as a place of passage: a medium of cleansing and an instrument for ritual.

"Set in darkness, the main room contains a black metal tunnel, leading to nowhere in particular. Revelation is in the act of passing -- the centre of the bridge is riddled with incandescent lights and errant wires. This sea of electrical accumulation seems at once mesmerizing and treacherous", the organisers elaborated in a statement.

Further, drawing upon the artist's own personal experience of living in Jharkhand, where electricity is precious and the glow of a single bulb in the dark wild landscape is a miracle for the residents -- the walls of light in the second room of the installation is symbolic, according to the statement.

The organisers describe these lights as votives, an offering, a wish. "But what deity do they serve? The viewer is asked to consider, in the face of modernity, is this where devotion lies? If rivers are gods and goddesses, where do they now reside?"

"Through his interpretation of the curatorial theme, Chittrovanu's work is an impactful representation of the biennale's mission to unite artists, of multiple cultures and artistic practices from across the world, on one platform," the statement said.

--IANS

ss/nir/dg