Rupture & repair

The sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is a rallying point for artists from the Global South

- FAIZAL KHAN

AN OLD BICYCLE, a record player, a timepiece and a wall clock from decades ago adorn the colourful shelves of a shop in the loud and busy street cutting through a centuries-old market.

House of Repair announces a large board hanging inside the shop with its name, Casa Borges, in big, bold letters screaming at passersby. At the Mattancherry market near Kerala’s heritage town of Fort Kochi, the unlikely outlet with outdated objects bearing the name of a celebrated South American writer hides more than it houses.

Casa Borges is, in fact, part of the sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India’s biggest contemporary art festival that opened on December 12. Set up by Brazilian artist Cinthia Marcelle, who has named the incongruous store after the famous writer Jorge Luis Borges from neighbouring Argentina, the artwork reflects a recurring intent of artists from the Global South at the biennale this year to address the socioeconomic and political crises gripping the world.

“During my time in Kochi, especially in the neighbourhood of Mattancherry, I came across a very particular scene: damaged objects accumulating in the streets, left behind yet still full of use, memory, and a sense of future possibility,” recounts the Sao Paulo-based Marcelle about the point of departure of her installation, titled History.

What followed was an artistic process that visualises the possibilities for a better world in the streets with the help of ordinary people. “Through posters spread across the city, people were invited to lend broken objects—things that were never repaired, but also never thrown away,” says the artist.