KOCHI:
On his first visit to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) in 2014, filmmaker Anand Gandhi was surprised to find a familiar work in exhibition: the iconic 1977 film Powers of Ten.
“The short piece of cinema had helped shape our perspectives as filmmakers. To see it here in Kochi was wonderful. Now, I’m always looking for that spark of magic: to be surprised, to be shocked, to be forced to look at things in ways I hadn’t previously considered,” Gandhi said.
On a visit to KMB 2016 last week, the Ship of Theseus director noted that the Biennale is a place where “insights, inspirations and epiphanies” are shared. “This is the reason I am back here again: to look at life with insight, inquiry and curiosity. This is a deeply inspiring place,” he said.
This inspiration has spread to the local communities, the National film award winner observed. “Each time I’m here, I get the sense of a growing movement. How this space has provided an opportunity to people from this part of the world who would otherwise not been able to interact with its insights and playfulness,” he said.
“The impact a movement like this has on global and local communities: it will expand the scope of our language, our know-how, our ways of understanding and it is going to inform our lives. I’m seeing that there is a progression and growth in that aspect between editions,” he added.
Noting that “we are all cartographers of time, reality and space working with shared maps”, Gandhi said, “The Biennale is a place where this sharing is going on. Each time I come here, I leave with enough to sustain me till the next time.”
Gandhi singled out the work of eminent litterateur and KMB 2016 participating artist Anand – titled Map-Makers and Map-Breakers: Space-to-Time along the Maps – as being particularly in sync with his view about the “politics and distortions of cartography and how distortion is unavoidable in cartography”.
Inspired by the Biennale’s spirit of involvement, Gandhi said he was hoping to “contribute to the conversation in some small way”. “I would love to come back here and share with the community the virtual reality experiences we have been creating over the past year,” he said.
