KOCHI .- Michael Najjar´s has been invited to participate at the 2nd Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kerala, India. Whorled Explorations, the central exhibition features 94 artists from 30 countries.

The 14th to 16th Century was the time when astronomer-mathematicians belonging to what came to be known as the Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics, were making transformative propositions for understanding our planet and locating human existence within the wider cosmos. They were making mathematical breakthroughs, amongst them treatises on trigonometry and calculus.

Acknowledging this vibrant history, Kochi might serve as an interesting site to invoke the mysterious expedition of our planet Earth, our shared dwelling hurtling through space at a dizzying velocity. None of the interdependent co-habitants of this twirling tenement seem to experience its speed or comprehend its direction; a productive state of uncertainty from where we may investigate several questions about our existence, take stock of our collective conflicts and ecological footprint, even as we continue to examine our place in an ever-inflating cosmos.

Whorled Explorations is conceived as a temporary observation deck hoisted at Kochi. The exhibition draws upon a wide glossary of signs from this legendary maritime gateway to bring together sensory and conceptual propositions that map our world referencing history, geography, cosmology, time, space, dreams and myths.

Michael Najjar´s work "orbital cascade_57-46" is on view at the Biennale. The video work visualizes the quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the Earth from 1957 to 2046. This includes everything from spent rocket stages, and old satellites to fragments resulting from disintegration, erosion, and collisions. Currently there are about 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm in space, orbiting Earth at a velocity of approximately 28,000 kmph and posing a severe threat to satellites, space stations, and manned space flights.

The visualization was realized in collaboration with the Institute of Aerospace Systems/TU Braunschweig.

Artistic Director of the Biennale: Jitish Kallat