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Kochi-Muziris biennale: A visual assault so opaque that it lures you back

Head to the 2018 edition of the Kochi-Muziris art biennale for rigorous mental gymnastics and a delightful visual assault

Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018
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Ecocide and The Rise of Free Fall, 2018 by Marzia Farhana

Anjuli Bhargava
The world doesn’t make sense so why should I paint pictures that do: Pablo Picasso

The procession of silhouetted black figures moves slowly from one end of the boulevard to the other. The figures carry loads ranging from every day belongings like suitcases and plants to emaciated figures on IV drips and body bags (representative of the Ebola crisis in Africa I later learn) dancing in rhythm to a 15-minute soulful musical tract across eight gigantic screens in a dark room. As the silhouettes exit the last screen, several people in the audience try to stop them. That’s how real