KOCHI:The Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) - 2014 will be going to the Tate in the UK as part of a show put together by students of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru.
‘Dialogic Assemblages,’ which records Srishti students’ response to the Biennale as it was coming together in November, has opened at the Artry gallery, Fort Kochi, as a KMB-14 collateral, and will be on until February 18. The project will be exhibited at Tate London for a month, from February 25.
The students worked on the project in an exchange between students of London’s premier art institute Central St Martins (CSM) and the Tate. The work was done under the guidance of artists Meera Curam and Michelle Williams Gamaker, a UK-based performer and documentary artist who works around the world.
The works are largely reflections of ideas produced in two locations - the KMB-14 and the Tate. So, while a Srishti student made a record of being a wildlife adventurer discovering the works uncovering at the Biennale, a CSM student played a detective at the Tate. There are photos of the behind-the-scenes workers of the Biennale, and a text-based work on what art and the Biennale means.
“It is hard to have a vision that is contemporary, appeals to the youth and is also market-driven. And, this is what sets apart the KMB. The Biennale Foundation is keen on education and projects like this to build deeper participation with students. It is very important and special to have this venue,” said Srishti founder-director Geetha Narayanan.
The project, curated by Srishti’s dean of contemporary art and curatorial practice Meena Vari, consists of video and photo works of 20 students, produced over a month.