Chennai Photo Biennale officially launched on 9th December 2021 with exhibitions in both physical and virtual forms showcasing works by artists from across the world along with the release of two online journals, guided tours of the physical exhibition venues, virtual artist talks, Kanavu fellowship showcase, Photo Awards and much more. It has been two months into the launch of Chennai Photo Biennale Edition III titled ‘Maps of Disquiet’ that reflects on the various issues of current times. Whilst the physical exhibitions have come to a close, the biennale continues to be live via digital showcases on the website and the online screenings of video artworks at Goethe-Institut, Chennai on all Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The ongoing virtual exhibitions explore exemplary works by artists from around the globe, including Amitesh Grover, Andreas Langfeld, Sarabhi Ravichandran, Arthur Crestani, Babu Eshwar Prasad, Carolina Caycedo, Gauri Gill, Harun Farocki, Hito Steyerl, James P Tylor, Jane Jin Kaisen, Katja Stuke, Oliver Sieber, Katrin Koenning, Lisa Rave, Michael Hanna, Mohini Chandra, Nico Joana Weber, Parvathi Nayar, Nayantara Nayar, Patrick Pound, Rohini Devasher, Rohit Saha, Rory Pilgrim, Ruth Patir, Sanchayan Ghosh, Saranraj, Senthil Kumaran, Siva Sai Jeevanantham, Soumya Sankar Bose, Sridhar Balasubramanium, Susanne Kriemann, Tobias Zielony, Vamika Jain, Vasudha Thozhur and Yuvan Aves.
The key highlight in the coming days will be the launch of the awaited student showcase on 26 February - 17 April 2022 at the Government Museum, Chennai. The theme of the showcase is titled as ‘A land of stories’ that is an amalgamation of diverse people, unparalleled heritage and lush landscapes in the state of Tamil Nadu. The photo-project is curated by 40 students from across Chennai to portray their hometown through their respective lenses and provide a better insight into the compelling portraits.
Alongside the ongoing screenings and digital showcases, there are virtual guided tours being conducted for students to experience CPB Edition III. Such tours provide the students with an opportunity to engage with the artist work and learn the process behind art-making. In addition to this, there are fun activities for students to tab their innate creative potential which can further assist them in exploring their imagination.
“Edition 3 of CPB marks a new chapter in our evolution. Forced by the pandemic to work within a limited framework of venues and funding, the biennale takes on a hybrid avatar for the first time. This challenge opens up the possibility for CPB to reach the global arts audience via its custom built digital platforms - the online journal and the digital exhibitions. It doesn't matter if you're an art lover spending an afternoon at home on the biennale website or if you have a few minutes during your morning commute - the biennale and its projects will help you discover fresh perspectives by over 50 artists and contributors from 12 countries for our third edition, Maps of Disquiet”. - Varun Gupta, Director of the Biennale.
In its third edition, Chennai Photo Biennale’s young minds from CPB Prism have launched a photographic series titled, ‘This is Home’ that reflects on the notion of home through five perspectives : House, People, Objects, Neighborhood and Self. The exhibition reflects the continuous dialogue the eighteen participants of the workshop had with their environment and how those conversations have translated into a body of work that can be viewed here.
The physical exhibition is on display at Dakshinachitra, Tamil Nadu up till 28 February. Other highlights of the biennale include The Biennale publication that includes a two-part print publication that will be launched and circulated representing all artists and contributors of CPB III for audiences to have the biennale in their hands. In order to engage the students with the biennale, CPB has created an illustrated booklet “Peer Ponder Play”, with the aim to take young learners on a journey of ‘Looking’. The book revolves around the work of selected exhibiting artists from CPB Edition 3 and will have a series of 20 hands-on activities through which students can explore nature, their city, popular culture, and the people around them. You can pre-order the book from here.
To read our interview with the curators of this editions, follow the link here.
Date 15-02-2022