‘The Free Space’, which occupies the central hall at Ishara House (Kashi Hallegua House), is an imposing steel cage with no doors or openings. It is likely to stop you in your tracks, and make you wonder a little about the work and the artist, perhaps.
Michelangelo Pistoletto, the artist, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, and this work was realised in 1999 through a collaboration with the inmates of San Vittore prison in Milan, Italy. Over his lifetime in art, the 93-year-old Italian artist has been seeking to break down the walls between art and common things.
The placement of Pistoletto’s work at Amphibian Aesthetics, an exhibition at Kashi Hallegua House, is significant. The work juxtaposes ideas of containment and freedom while situated in a heritage building, a Jewish synagogue to be precise, which has lived through times of conflict, migration, and coexistence. Built in 1568, by the Paradesi Jewish community of Kochi, the building and the art work interact on multiple levels, egging viewers to try different ways of viewing, different ways of thinking.
Amphibian Aesthetics is the inaugural show of Ishara House, which made its debut as a centre for contemporary art. Launched by the Ishara Art Foundation (located in Dubai), the Ishara House showcases the works of 12 artists and collectives from South Asia, West Asia and Europe.
The show Amphibian Aesthetics
| Photo Credit:
Anuj Daga
Amphibian Aesthetics runs parallel to the Kochi Muziris Biennale and is held in collaboration with Aazhi Archives, a collective of artists, writers, scholars and thinkers doing collaborative research on Kerala’s maritime history and evolving artistic practices. This is an extension of its multidisciplinary project, Sea A Boiling Vessel, which used the ocean as a metaphor to trace Kerala’s history.
Riyas Komu, artistic director of Ishara House and co-founder of Aazhi Archives
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Amphibian Aesthetics considers multiple realities — climate and humanitarian crisis, geopolitical shifts, and the fluid nature of human existence. “A world where binaries no longer work. Where the amphibian works better,” says Riyas Komu, artistic director of Ishara House and co-founder of Aazhi Archives. “Art has to provide a space to contemplate and evolve. We are looking at multiple things here, and among them is how Kochi is emerging as an art production site. There is an art ecosystem here now and an important part of the discourse is also about how art came here and started working with the history of the space. What does art give back to the space?” asks Riyas.
Inside one of the gallery rooms is a giant hull (of a ship), a work that treads the space between art and commerce. Shanvin Sixtous, proprietor of Vinton Engineering, an architectural metalworks firm based in Kochi, presents a mixed-media installation, using steel and multiscreen videos to explore the hull as both material and metaphor. ‘In Between’, analyses the hull that is constantly negotiating between land and water.
‘In Between’ by Shanvin Sixtous at Ishara House
| Photo Credit:
Biju Ibrahim
Visual artist and graphic novelist Appuppen’s satirical wit shines through in ‘The World of Amfy BN’, a series of print, online and graffiti interventions.
The unpainted walls of Ishara House and the minimal use of lighting, except for the open corridor that lets lavish sunlight in, add depth and drama to the works.
The doors to a few rooms are shut, intentionally, keeping them as intimate spaces for video and site-specific installations. Shilpa Gupta’s ‘When the Stone Sang to the Glass’, is one such, which invites viewers into two small darkened rooms, where found furniture pieces have been combined with drinking glasses collected from the neighbourhood, to create musical resonances. The installation came together, when Shilpa, on a site visit was reminded of Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s song of resistance, ‘Hum Dekhenge’, while tapping the surfaces of these objects.
Ishara House
| Photo Credit:
Anuj Daga
Since its very first edition in 2012, the Kochi Muziris Biennale has aimed to take art to the masses, break down the walls and engage with the local ecosystem. Five editions later, it is fascinating to see how the biennale season weaves itself into the fabric of the city, especially in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, where residents, shop owners, visitors and tourists turn into artists themselves. Parallel shows and satellite events, pop ups and performances are all part of this vibrant art climate. It is an example of what art can do as a soft power and generate more interesting offshoots, says Riyas. “This place has residue of colonial histories; we are repurposing these ancient warehouses. The site provides to the art…half the work is done by the location,” he adds. Amphibian Aesthetics, in that sense, adds Riyas, “is opening conversations about ecology, migration, culture and infratructure … a very fluid state of being.”
Amphibian Aesthetics is on at Ishara House till March 31.
Aazhi Archives is organizing two more shows at Uru Art Harbour in Mattancherry and Kara in Fort Kochi.
Figure, Field and Fact
Shilpi Rajan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Self-taught sculptor and artist Shilpi Rajan’s retrospective, ‘Figure, Field and Fact’, encapsulates over 40 years of his life in art. Sculptures in varying sizes, in clay, cement, wood, bamboo and laterite fill up the gallery spaces at Uru Art Harbour, in Mattancherry. Rajan, who began his journey as a mechanic in Thrissur, was driven by his instinctive flair for art. Not bound by academic constraints, Rajan’s creative oeuvre reflects his distinctive style shaped by life’s experiences.
At Uru Art Harbour
On till March 31.
Archeo Logical Camera
A series of photographs and samples from archeological sites from across Kerala opens a window to the prehistoric period. Mohamed A in his Archeological photography explores the cultural dynamics of the past. From the rock engravings at Edakkal and Towari to the microlithic artifacts at Anakkara and the excavations at Muziris-Pattanam, Mohamed history into a compelling visual experience. At Kara, the photographs, in varying shades of ochre and specimen take you on a journey you least expect.
At Kara, Fort Kochi.
On till January 30.
Published – January 17, 2026 05:53 pm IST