Niilofur Farrukh, CEO of The Karachi Biennale Trust (KBT), a not-for-profit organisation, founded in 2016, took up this initiative to bring art to the public in form of a collaborative effort between various artists and educators....
KB’19
It is said that there is no better way to build a bridge between people of the city and art than to have a biennale. And, the first ever biennale that took place in Karachi in 2017 proved this statement to be true. Not only did it take the citizens by surprise since they had never seen anything like that before, but it was one of the biggest events that happened in Karachi.
Niilofur Farrukh, CEO of The Karachi Biennale Trust (KBT), a not-for-profit organisation, founded in 2016, took up this initiative to bring art to the public in form of a collaborative effort between various artists and educators. She brought it as a platform to promote creativity and critical narratives in the visual arts. It has been revolutionary in brining artist’s voices, local and international, to light and invigorate art culture amidst public spaces.
After the success of KB’17, this year KBT came up with a different theme, ‘Flight Interrupted: Eco-leaks from the Invasion Desk’ that partakes in one of the biggest ecological discussions worldwide. It is a state of environmental urgency that has taken over every platform, calling out artists to inculcate conversations within their work regarding the mass developmental footprint and the nation’s deteriorating natural habitats. It is aimed at seeking attention for the crisis in the form of art that requires every individual to become more self-aware, question, and get involved with what might literally be the cause for our survival.
KB’19 incorporated art exhibitions, paintings, installations and performances of the local as well as international artists. The biennale - curated by Muhammad Zeeshan - showcased 101 artists who put up 91 projects at 7 different venues that were spread across the city, open and absolutely free for the public.
With the theme of ecology, all the venues were selected accordingly. After Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim, no venue could serve to be closer to nature than the Karachi Zoo, with full of historical significance and serving as a home to some of the oldest trees in the city and wildlife. A large number of people visit the Karachi Zoo frequently especially on special occasions like Eid. Since KBT made a conscious effort to choose venues that were the most accessible to the public, Karachi Zoo seemed like a very good choice. People tend to create two separate circles for those who are connected with art and those who are not. The zoo helped merge these two circles and unite them into one since people of Karachi were familiar with that space and did not feel intimidated or scared to walk in and have a look at the artwork.
Karachi Zoo featured 13 talented artists and their beautiful artworks that addressed various matters. One of the art pieces that stood out was Irfan Gul Dahri’s installation, titled ‘Picnic’, which displayed a family of life-sized goats. Dahri had already been working on exploring the similarities in the natures of animals and human beings in the past and continuing his investigation, he was deeply influenced by how the class and caste system in our society reflected the hierarchy found in the jungle. To show this idea, Dahri made a family of goats, their posture, behaviour and attributes being very similar to a middle-class family having a picnic in a park. This satirical lens created by Dahri is a spectacular representation of how our lives are complicated and divided by the means of grouping people based on the amount of money, fame or power they have and how that affects the surroundings.
A prominent installation that gave a very important message and brought smiles onto the faces of the viewers was a collaborative piece, by Qinza Najm and Saks Afridi, called ‘Don’t grow up, it’s a trap’.This installation made a very obvious statement on how people, when younger, are flexible to changes and accept one another for who they are; hence they could see each other on the seesaw. However, when they start to grow up, they get lost in societal labels, build walls of non-acceptance around them and reject the idea of diversity; hence they were only able to see their own reflection when they rode the seesaw.
Mohsen Kienay, a UK based artist, titled his work ‘Simurgh’ made spellbound sculptures of birds out of scrap metals. This installation was a response to ecological changes in the environment. Being an immigrant himself, he displayed the attributes of a migrant and the reasons that lead to relocation, especially focusing on war, technological advancements and industrialisation. His installations were spread on the ground which looked like birds have rusted out while feeding on the ground which beautifully conveyed his message.
The repetitive process of formation and deformation of birds was beautifully captured by Ranu Mukherjee who displayed a 9 channel animation clip called ‘The Dead and the Wild’. This was originally made for a museum in San Francisco and perfectly fit with the theme of KB’19. She used 9 extinct bird species and turned them upside down. Their fragments moved in each of the 9 clips until a bird was formed and soon the bird was deconstructed until only the fragments remained. This was to show how even after death, the species still tell us a story and speak to us.
A fifteen minute video installation exhibited by Sven Johne, titled ‘A Sense of Warmth’, showed a representation of a world without capitalism, exploitation and environmental degradation. In this video, the protagonist, Mindy, provided troubling reports and pulled the viewers into a life that she built, a life that did not exist, a paradise. It had a deep impact on the audience as it helped them escape from their tough lives, even if it was for a few minutes.
Transforming inorganic materials into interesting pieces of artwork, Imran Hunzai commented on how modernisation was bad for the environment. After the industrial revolution, everything had been replaced with concrete and metal. Common means of transport such as the ‘ghora-gari’ had now been substituted by the rickshaw - one of the leading causes of pollution and global warming.
Another installation by Nabahat Lotia, labelled ‘Snakes and Ladders’, was targeted at reminding people of their childhoods and how simple life used to be. This installation was fitting to the venue, the Karachi Zoo, as the zoo itself was a host to childhood memories for many people of our city.
Apart from artworks and installations, the venue also had three performances taking place there. Abdullah M. I. Syed’s ‘Bacha Jamoora’ was a poetic interpretation of the informal Pakistani street theatre which brought a lot of interactive excitement to the audience. The performance went on for 2 days at the venue which was physically exhausting for the artists but kept the viewers engaged. Muhammad Farhan Alam’s ‘Dostana’ consisted of offering solutions to ecological concerns which were presented by adopting the roles of a fish and a bird. Lastly, Victorine Muller in her performance, ‘Timeline’, sat high-up inside a transparent, life-sized elephant to restore the belief of a relationship between mankind and nature.
The Karachi Zoo hosted the art pieces that integrated themselves so well into the surroundings that they seemed as if they had always been there. These art pieces were easy enough for a general public to understand the message and embrace art. It is Muhammad Zeeshan and Niilofur Farrukh’s mutual efforts that helped in educating the public through art on an urgent need of protecting the environment. The works brought joy and excitement to the onlookers; however it was not an eye candy or a source of amusement but a cry for help. Hopefully, KB’19 convinced the citizens to change their ways of life and concentrate on preserving the environment.
