The artist-curator formula has long been a criteria of choice for the Biennale’s organizers. Anita Dube is an artist and activist — politically engaged in both word and action — and the first woman chosen to curate the biennial, ending the spiral of the "Bombay Boys"! Since 2004, her formidable Kissa-e-Noor Mohammed (Garam Hawa) video, a portrait of a man played by Dube, has offered a portrait of the nine “rasas” (essences or “sentiments” in Indian aesthetics) through a character called Noor Mohammed, an amiable and affable man on the outside, but a full-blown fundamentalist on the inside.
With 600,000 visitors set to attend its third edition, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has finally found its way, but needs to improve on certain points: notably, its incessant delays. Next year, the biennial will have to convince audiences and define its own curatorial line — something that Anita Dube, a politically-engaged and outspoken artist, will certainly help with.
Kissa-e-Noor Mohammed (Garam Hawa)
