The Kochi-Muziris Biennale made worldwide headlines when it opened on December 12 — as India’s first biennale, the three-month long Kerala-based event signifies the area’s debut of a major international contemporary art platform. But on December 19, it received a different kind of press when a large charcoal mural by Australian artist Daniel Connell was defaced by unknown vandals, who attacked the work by rubbing it with a burnt coconut husk and water.
Titled LOOKHERE, Connell’s project consists of two 6.5 by 6.5-foot portraits as well as a series of paste-ups with images of local residents. The damaged work is a portrait of a man named Achu, who is a local tea vendor.
