British artist Sarah Chandy explores one woman’s creative resistance against authoritarian injustice in pre-Independence South India.
Presented as part of the official Collateral Programme of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Lilies in the Garden of Tomorrow by British artist Sarah Chandy is now open to the public. The project is one of only eight exhibitions selected by a panel of national and international jurors for the Biennale’s sixth edition. The exhibition is curated by Bakul Patki, produced by Yolk Studio and supported by the British Council, TNQ Foundation.
The exhibition draws inspiration from the letters and diaries of Eliamma Matthen, a Syrian Christian woman from South India and the artist’s great-grandmother-in-law. Through these intimate records, Chandy revisits Eliamma’s life during the years leading up to India’s independence – when she navigated the political persecution of her husband, C. P. Matthen, co-founder of the Travancore National and Quilon Bank.
Spanning five generations of memory, Lilies in the Garden of Tomorrow traces Eliamma’s determined fight against the unjust imprisonment of her husband, while she simultaneously worked to sustain her family and community. The exhibition foregrounds female strength and resilience within the social and political constraints of a patriarchal world, offering a deeply moving reflection on women’s often-unseen roles during times of crisis, as witnesses to injustice and as agents of creative resistance.
“Eliamma’s words resonated powerfully with me. As women we carry invisible emotional loads for our families, while having to act reliably and regularly to maintain care and continuity. She had to step well beyond her comfort zone to achieve her goals against all odds.” Sarah Chandy
The project unfolds as a living, process-driven work, weaving together publicly archived documents, family correspondence, diary entries, and artefacts with newly created collaborative photo and audio performances. These elements embody memories that are consciously and unconsciously carried by Eliamma’s descendants today. Visitors, too, become part of this process—invited not to consume a fixed narrative, but to reflect, respond, and share their own memories and messages within the gallery space.
Eliamma had expressed a wish that one day this chapter of her story would be told. Through Lilies in the Garden of Tomorrow, Chandy not only honours that wish, but also examines how families carry memory across generations, how memory resists power, and how acts of remembrance – particularly those passed down through women – become quiet yet enduring forms of resistance against erasure and the dominance of official narratives.
Exhibition Details
Lilies in the Garden of Tomorrow runs until 31st March, 2026 as part of the official collateral programme, 6th Kochi-Muziris Biennale at Arrow Mark I Nosh Haus Café, Jew Town Road, Kochi, Kerala 68200.
All images copyright Sarah Chandy.
