KOCHI: Art lovers who made their way to the Pepper House Residency at Fort Kochi for the start of a two-day art fiesta on Saturday were in for a surprise when they were asked to shoot arrows at several hanging objects. It turned out to be an astounding multi-media installation put up by renowned Australian acoustic artist Dylan Martorell.
Dylan’s installation produced a set of rhythmic sounds when the arrows started hitting their targets. The event marked the beginning of ‘Weekend of Art’ organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) as a prelude to the second edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale which will begin on December 12 Martorell’s works often combine a highly refined sense of detail with ad hoc improvisation. A musician himself, Martorell uses the nexus of sound and image as the basis of a constantly evolving body of work.
The two-day event also marked the launch of a new initiative called ‘Kochi AIR,’ a programme involving artists who are interested in working outside the constraints of gallery-based practice. The Kochi AIR, conceptualized by Martorell, includes street-based art performances, installations, collaborative interactions, workshops and presentations.
Martorell’s presentation was followed by a ‘sound performance’ by Patrick O’Brien, a sound-based artist and a member of the noise rock band Mad Nanna. During his performance, he created sounds using locally-found objects like roof tiles, metal rocks, wooden sticks, rusting iron drums, etc.
An ‘Art Talk’ on ‘Ethonomusicolgy of Alterity’ by Robert Macdougall, a Melbourne-based electro acoustic musician as well as video and installation artist, was also organised as part of the event.
Macdougall talked about his experiences of encountering the indigenous music of the oppressed and the marginalised people in Vietnam. The artist narrated experiences of his search for the deeper roots of these music traditions and culture.