Gayatri Kodikal

Listening to Gayatri Kodikal talk about her residency is an experience in itself. She knows how to draw you in with intriguing tales and wonderous details. One of the works she made is a set of ancient-looking roof tiles that were moulded on her limbs to refer to the body as a companion in storytelling. Like the roof tiles, several more projects involve interlocking elements: Tetris blocks, intricate floor tiles, mud-retaining walls for flood areas. It chimes with her work as a story developer for games, which demands numerous details to fall into place. Sometimes, elaborating a game narrative becomes a quest in itself, like Kodikal’s long-term research inspired by azulejo panels in the Graça Convent in Lisbon that depict the gruesome martyrdom of Georgian queen Ketevan. What was her story? Why were all the eyes of the angels shot out? You’ll have to play the game to find out…