Mumbai

Lunar Dome at the Nehru Planetarium

Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai

2019

Painting on a white dome on the Planetarium’s terrace, artists Sharad, Alam, and Munir Bukhari worked over 10 days to create a veritable ‘Moon in Mumbai’. The Planetarium, known for its extraordinary space installations and comprehensive roster of astronomy-related events, regularly hosts many science buffs, and thus served as the perfect setting for the project.

The final result was an acutely detailed snapshot of the moon, its Southern hemisphere specifically.

From discovering water on the moon and being the first space agency in Asia to reach Mars orbit, to creating a world record for releasing the maximum number of satellites in orbit (104) in a single launch, ISRO’s numerous missions have captured the collective imagination of the nation time and again. The Lunar Dome celebrates the pride ISRO has brought to each and every Indian by soaring high and reaching for infinity and beyond in innovative ways.

While celebrating the work ISRO has done in the past, the Dome is also emblematic of all the future achievements they have in store for us as a nation.

Chandrayaan Project WIP XXL Mumbai 2019 Pranav Jay 3

The biggest challenge of the project was to paint a moon on such a space and scale. We had to install over 2500 bamboos to make the scaffolding to reach the top.

The colours of the artwork tried to reflect at best the real colour of the moon which is more of a dark grey, mixed in with some white, black, and even a bit of orange — and all this is caused by its geology.

EXPLORE OTHER DISTRICTS:

Dadasaheb Phalke mural

The city of Mumbai is synonymous with Bollywood. Yet very few people know about the origins of this industry. Ranjit Dahiya from the Bollywood Art Project paid a fitting tribute to the father of Indian cinema – Dadasaheb Phalke. The giant yellow mural stretched across 120x150 foot on the city’s iconic MTNL building. Dahiya’s mural, finished in collaboration with Indian artists Yantr, Munir Bukhari and Nilesh Kharade, was inaugurated by legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan and advertising maestro Piyush Pandey on December 11, 2014.

Filthy Luker Jindal Mansion Start Mumbai 2014 6

Filthy Luker's Installation at Jindal Mansion

When inflatable green tentacles sprouted out of the fifth floor of the Jindal Mansion on Mumbai’s posh and busy Peddar Road, people had varying reactions. Some thought that aliens had finally decided to pay Earth a visit, while others thought the movie ‘Jurassic Park’ was being shot at the mansion. Little did people know that the green tentacles were part of UK-based artist Filthy Luker’s installation at the Jindal Mansion. Luker wanted to make this piece interactive and open to multiple interpretations.

Dharavi

Most people know Dharavi as the world’s largest slum. What often misses mention is that it is also an area bustling with cultural activity and entrepreneurship. It provided the perfect setting for a public art project which would engage with the locals and also add a bit of colour to the neighbourhood.

Bandra/Chimbai Village

Bandra is one of the most popular suburbs of the city of Mumbai with a mix of cosmopolitan life and old heritage. It represents the contemporary face of Mumbai, yet deeply rooted in history which is why it was chosen. Starting in the neighbourhood of Pali Village, the project was gradually extended to other pockets of Bandra.

All We Need Is Love

In December 2017, we returned to the iconic Jindal Mansion for another thought-provoking installation. Done in collaboration with one of the most celebrated artists and designers of the country - Manish Arora, the installation wove out a celebration of love. Titled “All We Need is Love” and situated amidst turbulent socioeconomic realities of the day, the installation aimed to encourage passers-by to stop and take notice of the beauty in the world, no matter how fleeting.