Amphibian Aesthetics: Art in the Age of Precarity

Venue: Mehaboob John Talkies, Uru Art Harbour, Jew Town, Mattancherry

Date: 13 December 5:00 PM
Speakers: Riyas Komu, Prof. CS, Prof. Ilias, Prof. Amith Lal; 

Moderated by Sabih Ahmed

The opening panel sets the stage for Amphibian Aesthetics, a philosophical proposition by the artistic directors and curators of the Ishara House project. Born from an understanding of the world as a continuous, interwoven process, amphibian aesthetics calls for a renewed paradigm, one attuned to fluidity, adaptability, and the thresholds between states. This session traces the many pathways through which the idea has emerged: how it surfaced, the conceptual and material grounds that nourished it, and the futures it anticipates towards an evolving framework for thinking, making, and sensing amid a rapidly transforming world.

Riyas Komu is an artist and curator whose multidisciplinary practice explores war, migration, memory, and social conflict. Co-founder of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and URU Art Harbour, he has curated major cultural initiatives and exhibitions. 

Dr. C. S. Venkiteswaran is a Kerala-based film critic, documentary filmmaker, curator, and translator who writes in English and Malayalam. Author of several books on cinema and media, he has contributed widely to journals and served on juries and curatorial teams at major film festivals across India.

Prof. M. H. Ilias is a scholar of migration, the Indian Ocean world, and Islam in South Asia. Formerly at Southern Denmark University and Jamia Millia Islamia, he has held prestigious fellowships at Oxford, Berlin, and Temple University, and has contributed extensively to Middle Eastern and South Asian studies.

Amrith Lal is a senior journalist and commentator known for incisive analyses of politics, culture, and society in India. Former Senior Editor at The Indian Express, he brings literary training and historical insight to questions of democracy, identity, and public life, shaping national discourse through reflective, intellectually grounded writing.

Sabih Ahmed is a curator and cultural theorist currently serving as a Projects Advisor to the Ishara Art Foundation. He is the co-artistic director of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 and co-author of ‘Mass Traffic’ (Mousse, 2023).