Mattancherry’s “Kitchen Alchemy”, where children spill the secret sauce
“Kitchen Alchemy”, a live multi-sensory installation returning to Forplay Society, puts children in charge of telling the story of the kitchen.
Published 3 February 2026
This has finished · 12 December 2025 – 31 March 2026
- On view
- 12 December 2025 – 31 March 2026
- Times
- 1:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Part of
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025–26
Where
Forplay Society
Art gallery · Opposite Kaycee Corporation, Bazaar Road, Mattancherry
You’ve just missed it — take it home anyway
The 2025–26 Biennale ended on 31 March 2026. The next is expected around December 2027. We made a book of all 72 exhibits, venue by venue, with the photographs — 76 pages, 9 MB.
“Kitchen Alchemy”, a live multi-sensory installation returning to Forplay Society, treats the kitchen as a “relational site”. It is not a room full of chores. Here, steam from a pot does more than cook rice. It tells stories across generations.
Everyday life as material
The artists are Aruvi Eleanor, Arivu Ilango, Arunima O P and Arjun S Sasikumar. They made this together.
They work with textures from daily life. One example is the grind of a mortar and pestle. Another is a turmeric stain on a countertop. These help them ask questions.
Why children are in charge
Children are the main narrators of this installation. It uses child-authored drawings, gestures, and non-linear storytelling. This challenges the “adult-centric” way we often record history. It is a reminder that a child’s memory of a meal is often more vivid, sensory, and honest than any recipe book.