Grinding stones that tell a tale

A total of 170 discarded grinding stones have been collected from three localities in the Garden city and have been brought to Kochi to tell their tale by Bangalore based Sheela Gowda and Christoph Storz from Switzerland.

The movement of the grinding stones from 'out of kitchen' marks a change of lifestyle for people in urban areas signifying the lifestyle changes brought.

"These grinding stones, have literally been uprooted and put out of homes.There is so much history and memory. They get shoved out of the house and are thrown out to the street and they become invisible,"' Sheela Gowda told a group of visiting journalists as she was giving last minutes touches to the work 'Stopover'.

The grinding stones, which are associated with grinding of spices also, is being exhibited at the Aspinwall House, a large sea facing heritage property in Fort Kochi, established by an English trader, John H Aspinwall. The Aspinwall company had traded in pepper, timber, lemon grass oil, ginger, turmeric and spices, among others.

The building also houses several warehouses and is a primary venue of the Biennale, hosting numerous artist-led projects and events.