‘Don’t you hear me? In the sea of pain? Will you ever come back to the sea of pain? Never?’ The words embossed on the walls of Chilean poet-revolutionary Raúl Zurita’s installation, ‘The Sea of Pain’, at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) are poignant even without context.As they walk through the stretch of seawater brought in to cover this large space in Aspinwall House, 11 art students from Kashmir are filled with “mountains of pain”. The poet’s tribute to the victims of the Syrian refugee crisis had struck a chord with these “children of conflict”.“Here at the Biennale, we felt really connected by Zurita’s work as the poet has expressed the pain he feels for the Syrian refugee crisis in a heartfelt note. We also understand the pain conflict can bring, whether it happens in Kashmir or any part of the world,” said Numair Qadri, a first year fine arts student.The students from the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Kashmir, have come down from Srinagar to experience the creative freedom and artworks exhibited at the third edition of the Biennale.Their university was one of the 55 fine arts schools that have contributed to the second edition of the Students’ Biennale (SB) – the flagship arts education and outreach initiative run by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF).A set of videos are on display at Kotachery Brothers & co. warehouse, one of the seven SB venues in the Mattancherry-Jew Town area.
The videos depict students from the university working with Kashmir papier-mâché on a 60-ft chinar tree.While these students were not all directly involved in producing the artwork, their presence has added to the diversity of perspectives on offer at the ‘People’s Biennale’.“Kashmir has been in conflict for the past 300 years and we have always been under the fear of oppression. Our experiences of living under this cloud and coping with a militant atmosphere have been involuntarily expressed in our art,” said Qazi Tabia, also a first year fine arts student.Ahmed Muzamir, an older, more seasoned voice in the group, said, “Don’t make our homeland a battlefield for two powerful nations. We are also followers of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Bhagat Singh. We also want freedom like they did. Let God decide the time. Until then, we will do our part.”Owing to the constant flare-ups disrupting life in the Valley, their college had been shut down, interrupting their studies. “We were imprisoned in our own college, which was shut down for four months. There were no classes, no art materials,” Muzamir said.
“Over the break in studies, we covered a 60-ft chinar with newspapers stuck together with Fevicol. After that, we started doodling, painting, printing tattoo designs on the tree. We didn’t allow the interruption affect our work. Instead, we used our frustration a fuel for our work. As an artist, I really feel like we are children of conflict,” he added.At KMB 2016, these students – many hardened by life experiences – are moving between venues taking in a world of creative expression and artistic freedom.“It is a wonderful experience for the students to be able to experience products of the creative culture and artistic license that characterises the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. That same spirit is channeled into the Students’ Biennale, the Foundation’s most wide-reaching and ambitious outreach initiative. It brings together students, their practices, production and perspectives from all across India,” said Riyas Komu, KMB co-founder and Director of Programmes.