KOCHI: I have personally known Vivan Sundaram since 1989. I was a student at Mumbai JJ School of Arts at that time. Installations were making an entry into the field of modern arts in India during the late 80s and early 90s. And Vivan’s huge installations were making their presence felt.
His fingerprints were visible in the changes happening in modern art. He started the trend of artists becoming curators. As a curator, he organised an exhibition involving seven young sculptors. History has marked it as an exhibition of high prominence. His ideas, including artists’ residency, were novel to the day.
In politics and ideology, Vivan nurtured strong and steadfast preferences. Few artists have the courage and restlessness with which Vivan dreamt and created and the strong resolve with which he stood for justice. His was an honest and uncompromising nature on such matters. He never held back when talking on behalf of art or politics. He collaborated with groups like Artists Against Communalism and Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust.
Beyond being a significant artist, Vivan Sundaram was a generous and kind human being. We have learnt a lot as artists from his life. Vivan was a vital part of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. Initially, when our confidence was low, he supported us in so many known and unknown ways. He always offered words of appreciation and advice.
I still remember what he said while standing beneath a cashew tree on Aspinwall premises at the beginning of the first edition of the Biennale in 2012. There was absolute chaos at that time. He told me not to worry about the expenses; that he will see to it. Many artists received similar encouragement from him.
Vivan was here, slowly putting together what would be one of his most significant installations with pot shards from the Muziris excavation site. He had put on display a huge installation, ‘Black Gold’, and two big video projects. Vivan was a part of the ongoing fifth edition of the Biennale as well.
I last met him a few months back at Kiran Nadar Museum. At that time he, and his wife Geeta Kapoor, a painter-cum-writer, were planning to visit Kochi. He and his family were always close to the Kochi Biennale. Those memories will remain in my mind forever.
The author is the president of Kochi Biennale Foundation