Bose Krishnamachari’s Pavilion of Conversations explores the anatomy of dialogue—how it begins, expands, and branches—by creating a space where conversation itself becomes the artwork, inspired by Tom Marioni’s idea of social interaction as art.
The pavilion is a lightweight, circular, Tibetan-Buddhist–inspired installation made from repurposed materials, featuring a communal table, rotating elements, books, and references to Mumbai’s dabbawalas, encouraging movement, choice, and democratic participation.
Neither static nor purely architectural, the pavilion is designed to transform and disperse—its components reusable beyond the exhibition—reflecting Bose’s personal vision of openness, sustainability, and shared presence as the core artistic experience.
What can we make of if we try to decipher an anatomy of a conversation? It might build with a base, of a singular declaration, proceeding into something broader and then, might just branch out into motions and motives. Conversations are fluid, they flow, they bring in people and participants might choose to be or not to be in it.
Bose Krishnamachari, in his architectural installation, ‘Pavilion of conversations’, builds a gathering space for such concoctions to happen. Expanding upon a statement of Tom Marioni: “Drinking beer with friends is the highest form of art”, a declaration that Bose got to experience first hand in his time in states, he interprets a space that is open, transformative and as unique as Boses’ style.
A lightweight circular structure is held together by a ribbed, semi-porous canopy made from repurposed textiles and recycled plastic carpets. Formed in the style of a Tibetan-Buddhist structure, At the centre comprises a communal table that sits on 108 steel tin boxes. Bose’s longterm fascination of the bombay dabbawalas, the life-force of the city and a phenomenon which Bose says is the establishing identity of the city for him, becomes a part of this space of convergence. The centre extends onto a hollow pillar, comprising of invaluable books, which, Bose says would have been hard to come by for him as a student, in turn, making them available for anyone who wants to step in. The fluidity of the structure continues here as well, as one can turn various section of the pillar and the table on their own whim, much like a table at a Chinese eatery. This choice that one gets presented with to be in motion, even when physically still, can remind of hopping around discussions in a party. The structure balances itself on 13 pillars, ends in halfway to the roof. The structure thus, is a meticulous specimen of architecture, as much as its a participatory work of art.
Where Bose’s work becomes different from works that relies on public participation, is due to the fluidity of the space it holds. The size, the openness and the selected number of people it can hold onto itself, which bose denotes with the 13 stools inside the structure, makes public participation extremely democratic. The choice of being in the space and stepping off becomes a choice completely on the participant. The space, also becomes a reflection of Bose’s own space of solace, with the choice of colours, the books, and the unique choice of creating the structure itself, in his own artistic freedom. It is as per his vision, the structure is created in a modular fasion, the pillars can become sculptures, stools return as furniture, fabrics find new lives and the tins go back into circulation.The pavilion is not conceived as a static object but as a living stage; one where conversation, time spent together and shared presence become the work itself.
Bose Krishnamachari’s Pavilion of conversations inaugurated itself on February 4th, 2026 in STIR gallery Chhatarpur, New Delhi.
