KOCHI: “To fathers born alongside the sun, To fathers!
To mothers who cradled the earth, in their wombs, To mothers!
Here she comes, with songs embroidered to the strings of her hair,
Stories whispered by the wind in her ears, her steps awake the bones buried under the ground,
Her shadow lights up the long nights of life.
Bless her! Bless her! Bless her!
Here she comes, carrying the past, present, future on her back. Bless her!
Here she comes, from the soil wet by sweat and blood. Bless her!
Here she comes, with spirit unbroken, a story yet to be told. Bless her! Bless every word, bless every step, bless every dream and hope.
Bless her! Bless her! Bless her!”
--Aleena
The poem written by Aleena from her sound installation reverberates in the atmosphere at The Neighbour Gallery, a new space in the capital city envisioned by artists Joe Paul Cyriac and Valentina Abenavoli. The gallery opened with an exhibition that reflects its mission: exploring the power of shared spaces where gathering fosters care, creativity, and challenges societal norms.
The exhibition, titled 'You Cannot Act Upon What You Cannot See', focuses on the silences, and violence experienced by women in Malayalam cinema.
“This is a reckoning, an invitation to acknowledge what the world tends to ignore,” says Joe. Artists Aleena, Meera K M, Anjana Dev, Sreeja Pallam, Miriam Chandy Menacherry, and the Neighbour Collective have created a space that urges visitors to pause and think.
A sound installation honouring actor P K Rosy welcomes visitors with poetry, setting the tone. At its core is the Hema Committee report, displayed with stories of injustice. The exhibit begins with history — a single photograph, the only surviving image of Rosy, the first woman in Malayalam cinema who challenged caste and gender norms.
Meera’s sculpture inspired by Rosy is a tribute to her resilience. Anjana’s ‘Oru Chayakkada Scene’ reimagines a tea shop filled with women reclaiming public spaces, highlighting the importance of cultural shifts. Sreeja’s works capture women in their workplaces, complemented by photographs of the founding members of the Women in Cinema Collective at their professional spaces. Also showcased is Miriam’s Reframing Gender, a documentary that traces the creation and evolution of the WCC.
“The gallery is more of an artist-run exhibition space where we use art to spark conversations on issues that matter. Gender and caste are challenges we believe must be addressed. The idea for this space came to us around the time the report was released. So, we decided to go with the theme,” Joe explains.
“We believe in the power of art to ransform the way we see the world. It comes with its share of challenges, and hopes. To everyone who dreams, reflects, and carries diverse truths within them — welcome to Neighbour,” Valentina adds.
The exhibition will conclude on February 8