KMB 2025: Students’ Biennale – Mahalakshmi’s Work a Hand-stitched Masterpiece

KOCHI:
The art presentation ‘Sweet Ascent – A Traced Tapestry’, on view at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Fort Kochi, by artist Mahalakshmi Balamurugan, offers viewers an immersive engagement with nature as part of the Students’ Biennale, an initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF).

Mahalakshmi, a student of Government Fine Arts College, Kumbakonam, produced the work in Tamil Nadu over two months, captures the original movement of ants marching toward sweets placed in the centre, which she crucially traced and hand-stitched.

‘Sweet Ascent’ is a hand-stitched masterpiece, while ‘Tiny Ocean Ballet’ an immersive installation, invites visitors to participate in the artistic experience.

The presentation brings together works from her MFA studies, highlighting a practice rooted in disciplined observation and hand-stitched processes.

“The difficulty lay in the sheer complexity of the movement. The ants traced such labyrinthine routes that physically stitching the entire path together, exactly as it occurred, proved to be an immense challenge,” says Mahalakshmi, who was selected for the Students’ Biennale by curators Sudheesh Kottambram and Seethal CP. The work has received accolades from architects, fellow artists, and the general public, with viewers describing the experience as “marvellous”.

Expressing surprise at the profound connection people felt with the interactive elements, she said, “Seeing them engage so deeply with that specific element was truly rewarding.”

Mahalakshmi’s participation in the Students’ Biennale has been instrumental in expanding her breach within the global art community, providing significant visibility for her work and a rare opportunity to engage with contemporary art across the state.