Expect voices from fringe at 2018 Kochi biennale

A sculptor, an early votary of installations and mixed media a photographer, a performance and video artist, a founder-member of Khoj and a critic, Anita Dube has been at the cutting edge of the radical and experimental in contemporary Indian art. And now she’s been appointed curator of the next edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB), the first woman to have been appointed. Gargi Gupta caught up with Dube at her Delhi residence soon after she returned from Kochi where the announcement was made. Edited excerpts

Your first thoughts? 

Very excited. A little nervous. But I am up for it. It’s come at a time when I think I have enough preparation so as not to have a nervous breakdown! We all have ideas, but where do we get such an immense platform as the KMB to execute them? So it’s a unique opportunity. I am very glad that they thought that I can do it. I must congratulate them on being courageous enough to go with a woman curator — even the Documenta took 10 years to appoint a woman.

Do you think as a woman curator, your approach will be fundamentally different?

For me, it (being a woman artist or curator) is not an essentialist thing. But historically, women’s voices have been marginalised, as have the voices of others like the Dalits. So my curation will represent the margins, look at the voices of women.

Any initial ideas about what you’re planning?

It’s very early, but I’ve begun to take notes. I had said while I was accepting the assignment that I am interested in exploring, in creating possibilities for ‘non-alienated life’. By which I refer to how, despite such amazing works, many visitors to the Biennale spoke of a feeling of ‘this is too much’. I too have experienced this alienation, though I am an artist and I go to many such mega events. So one of things I will try to do is to bridge this alienation.

What about mediums? There was a lot of video at the last edition.

I’m very interested in painting, in sculpture. You see so little of painting nowadays, so why not? There’s also too much video. We also need to look at performance in a serious way.

You’re known for your radical, politically trenchant art. Will this be reflected in your curation as well? 

I am sure my curation will reflect my sensibility, without that you would be lost. If I see this Biennale, I can see Sudarshan’s (Shetty, the curator of the last edition of KMB) sensibility in it. I must go with my subjectivity else I'll make a mess of it.

Sudarshan, and earlier Jitish Kallat, spoke about how the curation took over their lives, to the extent of impeding their work. Are you apprehensive?

I am much more flexible as an artist. Of late, I have been building my studio in Greater Noida. That’s also taken up almost the same amount of time that this is going to take. So one thing is nearing an end and another thing is beginning. Art is not just the sculpture or installation you make — it is everything. For me, a building too can be an artwork. In that sense, the curation itself is an art project. And that challenges me.

Have you curated before?

No, except for a small show I did in 1994-95, in the foyer of the Kamani Auditorium (in Delhi). I juxtaposed the works of Vivan Sundaram, NN Rimzon, a few other Malayali artists and myself with objects from the street, such as a pyramid of oranges. The way fruit-sellers display their wares, I feel, is a sculptural installation — and I wanted the energy of the roadside in conversation with contemporary art. It was quite fascinating.

Despite being only in its third edition, KMB has become one of the most anticipated events on the international art calendar. What, do you feel, are the reasons for its success?

Undoubtedly, it’s the commitment, passion and belief of Riyaz (Komu), Bose (Krishnamachari, the founder-directors of KMB) and the early people who drove the Biennale. Also the venue. Fort Kochi is perfect — breathtaking in terms of scale and history. It’s an excellent place to show art. Because it’s no longer embedded in the nitty-gritty of daily life, it’s become accessible to culture. It’s the perfect place to stage the present moment in global art.