καιρός remembered

Parliament of Ghosts

Ibrahim Mahane first developed the concept of Parliament of Ghosts in his hometown of Tamale, Ghana. He has since staged it in various locations, including Manchester (2019) and the Venice Biennale in 2023, adapting it each time to the political and economic history of the city.

Partly coinciding with a version staged and exhibited in London, another version was also on display at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, in an old warehouse dating from the colonial era. The walls of the space were covered with old, used jute sacks from the spice trade, and the parliamentary chairs came from various public institutions in Kochi that had discarded them.

In a parliament as we know it, all the seats are the same. In contrast, in the Parliament of Ghosts in Kochi, almost all the seats were different. Remnants of the people who had spent their working lives on them. An impressive collection of old chairs, each with its own character, for a parliament of invisible ghosts. A remarkable experience.

Photo of the week: Ibrahim Mahane, ‘Parliament of Ghosts’ (2017-ongoing), Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India 2016