Amphibian Aesthetics at Ishara House Explores Hyphenated Identity

The exhibition 'Amphibian Aesthetics', curated by Riyas Komu, launched on 13 December 2025 at Ishara House, a historic 200-year-old building located in Kochi's Jewish quarter, previously known as Kashi Hallegua House. This marks the inaugural exhibition at Ishara House, a project of the Ishara Art Foundation based in Dubai, and it will be on display until 31 March 2026. Collaborating with Aazhi Archives, which focuses on Kerala's maritime heritage, the show features Michelangelo Pistoletto's installations 'The Free Space' and 'Division and Multiplication of the Mirror' (2025), highlighting human arrogance through a metal cage surrounded by shattered mirrors. Additionally, Shanvin Sixtous of Vinton Engineering created the metal hull piece 'In, Between' utilizing acoustic sonar. Midhun Mohan's 'Man Holding His Dreams' (2022) provides satirical reflections on colonialism, while Dima Srouji's 'Foundations' (2025) reinterprets an Ancient Gazan tomb floor plan to express solidarity with Palestinians. Shilpa Gupta's 'When the Stone Sang to the Glass' (2025) transforms found furniture to resonate with Faiz Ahmed Faiz's protest poem 'Hum Dekhenge', confronting authoritarianism.