Biennale in Kochi depicts resistance of Aboriginals

Embassy that brings to light discrimination and exploitation faced by the aboriginal population of Australia is making waves at the Muziris Biennale here.Set up by Australian artist Richard Bell as a symbol of the resistance of the Aboriginals, the Embassy calls for defence of the aboriginals the worldover.The Embassy has been created by putting up a tent outdoors at the venue of the biennale.

'Embassy' that brings to light discrimination and exploitation faced by the aboriginal population of Australia is making waves at the Muziris Biennale here.

Set up by Australian artist Richard Bell as a symbol of the resistance of the Aboriginals, the Embassy calls for defence of the aboriginals the worldover.

The Embassy has been created by putting up a tent outdoors at the venue of the biennale. A descendant of the aboriginal tribe, 70-year-old Bell decries the owner-slave mentality which still exists in certain human minds, which should be despised. ''Can it be blamed if, to express their strong displeasure, the aboriginals open an embassy in their own land? The Embassy has been taken up as a symbol reflecting the pitiful condition of aboriginals at an international level,'' Bell pointed out.

The tent 'Aboriginal Embassy' has been envisioned as a place for holding exhibitions, video presentations, and discussions to ensure the survival and welfare of aboriginals and to support institutions fighting on their behalf, organisers said in a release. The exterior of the tent exhibits posters depicting the outcry against discrimination and exploitation. One of them says - 'Why is democracy being celebrated when life as an aboriginal is forbidden?' Bell, as the topmost contemporary artist in Australia, is also a well-known activist. 'Embassy' has been exhibited at contemporary art expos worldwide. Big canvas paintings made by Bell in response to racism and land conflicts involving aboriginals can also be seen at the venue.

Meanwhile, a comics workshop began as part of the Art Room programme under the 'Art by Children' (ABC) initiative of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. Well-known cartoonist Bharath Murthy is heading the workshop. Murthy is also a filmmaker, and is the founding-editor of Comix India.

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