P K Sadanandan's Biennale Art finds home at Cochin International Airport

The massive natural colour mural by artist P K Sadanandan depicting a popular story from Kerala folklore, displayed at the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has now been installed at the new T3 terminal building of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).

Telling the well-known tale of the origins of the clans in Kerala 'Parayi Petta Panthirukulam' was created by Sadanandan and three of his colleagues over the 108 days of the Biennale from December 2016 to March 2017 using natural dyes extracted from stones, leaves oil, sand and tree sap. 

Top officials from the government and CIAL authorities visiting the Biennale at the time had expressed the desire to find the 15mx3m mural a home at the newly constructed Terminal 3 at the airport. “CIAL is the fourth busiest Airport in the country and a masterpiece such as this deserves to be installed here, as it conveys the idea of secularism and speaks strongly against caste-based discrimination” said Bose Krishnamachari, the President of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF).

KBF Secretary Riyas Komu said they had received many suggestions for relocating the work after the Biennale, including to state museums. “But the work requires careful maintenance and preserving under certain temperature conditions and it might have placed a huge financial burden on the host. CIAL was a great alternative and the officials there were very supportive,” he said.