KOCHI: “Understanding women, minorities, lower castes, and those who have to fight every day of their lives to eke out a living in society, is the foundation of my art work,” says V V Vinu, one of the artists at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. His mixed media sculpture installation titled ‘Ocha’, translates to voice: The very essence of his art.
Born and raised in Kangarappady, a village in the suburbs of Kochi, Vinu observed ancient customs and unfair practices that existed around him. Born into a lower caste, the sculptor narrates a first-hand account of his experiences through his installation which comprises 300 wood figurines. Made from the wood of Cerbera odollam, known as the suicide tree for its poisonous fruits, a few life-sized figures are engaged in mundane tasks representing the working-class, while the rest of them are nailed to large coconut trunks. “The odollam tree is found in coastal areas of the state. It is instantly cut down if found growing in backyards, for obvious reasons. The tree is infamous and ignored by mainstream society, hence I chose to create sculptures from it,” the RLV College of Music and Fine Arts graduate says.
The small figurines nailed to the trunks of coconut trees are a reference to a ritual conducted at the Chottanikkara temple. Women suspected to be in possession of spirits were forced to drive enormous nails into an ancient ‘Pala’ tree with their foreheads. “Earlier, as per societal norms, women who raised their voices or were outspoken, were considered lunatics or in possession by spirits. The supposed spirit was conjured into a nail which was then driven into the tree, thereby trapping it within the tree. This is represented in my work with male figures, rather than female ones,” the sculptor says. The male figurines depicted portray lithe bodies. This is in contrast with the hallmark of leftist artistic practices that showcase the downtrodden.
The nailed figures also comprise those covered by black hoods. “The hoods are symbolic of people uninvited in society - the criminals and the downtrodden,” Vinu says. In the background, a video installation plays, reading out excerpts from Malayalam novels by Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, C Ayyappan and Pattathuvila Karunakaran. The texts question political correctness, heteronormativity and moral policing in Kerala society.
Vinu’s sculptures also include a range of references. A wheel and a human figure was inspired by the poem ‘Aadyathe Chuvadukal: Ayyankalikku’ (First Steps: For Ayyankali) - by Benoy P J which inculcates the Villuvandi Samaram (Bullockcart Struggle) of Ayyankali, a radical crusader of Kerala who was against casteism.
Vinu has previously displayed his work at the Shanghai Biennale in 2016. “I had done a solo show in the Buddha Art Gallery in Fort Kochi. That very work was selected for the Shanghai Biennale,” he says.