Biennale has given global platform for Indian artists

Kochi: Well known Malayalam film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan and noted writer Sethu have urged the government to lend financial support to the Kochi Muziris Biennale, which has given a global platform for several Indian artists.

"Those criticising the event must first come and see the biennale," the ace director said after a visit to the Aspinwall House. Maintaining that their opposition to the extravaganza stemmed mainly from a mindset that always resisted new art, he said the detractors should now concede their mistake, "more so considering the success of the biennale." Gopalakrishnan said the festival has given a platform for global recognition to several Indian artists. "It is time we all sat together and planned the execution of the next biennale," he added. A Sethumadhavan, popularly known as Sethu, said he wished the government lent the biennale better support, by judging its organisational activities with an open mind. Unlike other biennales of the world that are defined by state-of-the-art galleries and air-conditioned interiors, its edition in this ancient city is marked by venues which posses an old-world charm, he said after a visit to the Aspinwall House, the main venue of the event, in Fort Kochi. "The installations are curiously in tune with the looks and lay-out of the buildings that house them. Some of the works of art here would not have ever happened had it been for the raw interiors," remarked Sethu, who is currently chairman of the National Book Trust. As for Vivan Sundaram`s installation art titled `Sand`, the writer said the renowned artist had creditably sought to capture and showcase the essence of the long-lost Muziris culture. "My own novel, Marupiravi, is an attempt to essay it through words. Those who have read it and seen this art work can make out how the same theme is being expressed through two different mediums," pointed out the author. PTI