Even if the streets and galleries of Fort Kochi are out of bounds during the lockdown, the Internet makes possible a virtual walk through Aspinwall House or Pepper House to revisit work from previous editions of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Art work from the 2014 and 2016 editions of the biennale in Kochi rubs shoulders with virtual tours of several museums and galleries across the world on the Google Arts and Culture website. The virtual experience also allows the housebound art lover to visit the biennale venues as they were during its first edition in 2012.
A team from Google Arts and Culture has been documenting the biennale since 2012, said Bose Krishnamachari, president, Kochi Biennale Foundation. Efforts are on to make more content, including work from the 2018 biennale, accessible online.
The virtual tours also help artists get a first-hand feel of the venues before their proposals are prepared for the biennale.
On their Facebook and Instagram feeds, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has been featuring what artists have been creating during the lockdown, said Gautam Das, assistant director, programmes. “The idea is not to display finished work, but to give people an idea of what their studios look like or what they are creating,” he said.
Artists Jitish Kallat and Orijit Sen have recently been featured as part of the series, along with their notes on their work. On the upcoming edition of the biennale set to take off in December this year, Mr. Das said the situation would have to be evaluated over the next few months.