KOCHI: At his exhibition stall outside Aspinwall House here, artist Daniele Galliano is in constant search for new faces, and he is mobbed by people daily. The Italian artist’s live painting series at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016 has undoubtedly been a huge draw.
As part of the artistic endeavour titled ‘Bad Trip,’ Galliano is on a mission to draw as many new faces as he can. He will be working on one piece of drawing each day, and hopes to take the number of paintings to 108 by the end of the festival.
“People in Kerala are as open-minded as those in Italy. Since the faces here are very different, my work becomes refreshing. I’m constantly in a search of new faces and landscapes,” said Galliano who sees his series as a ‘travelogue of his stay in Kochi through its people and places.’
The diversity of dress styles and fashion sensibilities in Kerala is a notable characteristic of the series. From saari and jeans-Tshirt; the attires of the Punjabi and Kutchi settlers in Fort Kochi; to the various types of beards and moustaches found here - Galliano reproduces all of them on canvas.
‘Bad Trip’ is close to KMB-2016 curator Sudarshan Shetty’s core idea that creations at the Biennale are in constant evolution. The complete series will be opened to the public at the end of the Biennale.