BFA students gain insights into art at workshop with Ibrahim Mahama

Kochi / December 6, 2025

Kochi, Dec 6: Nearly two dozen youngsters of Gujarat and Kerala got a unique opportunity to work with celebrated Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama for a fortnight, as they lent assistance to his installation on the dark history of Africa readying for the sixth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB-6).

The 22 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students, largely from Ahmedabad-based Anant National University and a few colleges of Kerala, expressed delight over the learning of new perspectives of aesthetics and the power of narratives, as Mahama’s workshop concluded on Friday evening.

Hours ago, the 38-year-old Mahama was announced to be topping the latest annual Power 100 list of the London-based ArtReview magazine, becoming the first African to achieve the feat.

At Anand Warehouse in Mattancherry, the workshop was conducted under the ABC Art Room- Pedagogy and Dialogue programme of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), which is organising KMB-6 starting on 12 December. Chiefly, the event enabled the participants to join in the making of Mahama’s installation, ‘Parliament of Ghosts’. It will be on display at the 110-day KMB curated by Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, Goa.

The November 20-December 5 workshop saw Mahama demonstrating ways for ideal utilisation of space and the importance of community participation in a work of art. A slideshow of his earlier works showed the Parliament in his studio of his native Tamale city, linking it with his first allied work conceived for the Manchester International Festival and the one currently in progress for the biennale.

‘Parliament of Ghosts’ will “explore memory, materiality, commodification, labour, exploitation and collective histories,” reveals Mahama.

The workshop gave the participants a fair idea about use of scale and materials in Mahama’s work and his self-derived process.

As Atharv Karkare, who is into fourth year of studies at Anant, says, “We were amazed by the scale of his work and his insightful ideas from his earlier works in the slideshow. We got to know the significance of Parliament, and about the silence of the voiceless whom it represents.” 

The BFA student says the artist gave the assistants the freedom to choose materials thoughtfully to form narratives. “Sometimes, the process itself could result in a work of art.”

The students were even asked to share their works, earning Mahama’s appreciation. “He lauded our themes but stressed the importance of choosing materials and gave new perspectives on exploring medium besides the vast scope of an artist’s role,” said Nikhila NK, into fourth year Painting, RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Tripunithura.

Jayaprakash P, a student from from Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Mavelikkara, in Alappuzha district, said Mahima’s art is “through-provoking” when it comes to connecting pieces of dark history on the exploited. “They made an identity breaking away from Western influences. It has inspired me to break away from my limitations while exploring sculptures and installation works,” he said.

Narratives from repaired materials and forms from scrap are a constant in Mahama’s works with each piece layered with history and emotions of labour, exploitation, slavery, and displacement.

The students repaired chairs, and supervised workers hanging strung and patched-up jute bags. Says Atharv: “It was wonderful to know that making chairs as pieces of art will have a role in Parliament of Ghosts. With the help of master carpenters, Mahama taught us how to dismantle and repair chairs,” said Atharv.

The participants pointed out that the workshop was an insightful exposure to various aspects of art, never experienced in colleges or exhibitions.

Ends