We were up and standing first in line at the gates at 10am on 12.12.23 for the opening of the 5th Kochi-Muziris biennale. We have been to every one over the last 10 years!
Then a boy came up and said the opening was postponed until December 23…we couldn’t believe it…well actually we could…the day we are leaving for Thrissur! But we will be back!
There were so many disappointed visitors from all over the world, press from Delhi.
The cyclone was blamed…a strike by electricians was blamed, derelict building was blamed…new management and curatorial teams were blamed but basically they were never going to have been ready by the 12th and the heirachy is flawed.
We talked to so many disillusioned and frustrated artists…who had arrived to find no materials, no technical support, and broken promises every single day and night.
The positive side of the postponement is that we have really enjoyed looking at the student biennale, and talking to the students about their work. All the student and invitation exhibitions opened on time as they are run by professional gallery curators and owners. We have seen excellent and exciting work at every venue!
Despite the temporary pavilion at Cabral yard being at least a month behind schedule we had the privilege of hearing William Kentridge recite Schwitter’s ‘ Ursonate ‘on a dilapidated stage at the Cochin Club, and two days later a South Korean percussionist, Seo Jungmin, playing on a 25 string instrument called a Gayageum, it sounded almost like a harp.
