Bangalore

Work with Emerging Artists

Bangalore

2016

The aim of St+art is to bring some of the best-known names in the world of urban art to different cities in India. But along with that, we also want to support the next generation of artists, giving them spaces to express, and hone their craft. Bangalore is also home to some of the country's best art schools, hence during St+art Bangalore 2016 we worked with the most promising emerging artists from the city to help them produce work on the same platform as the established artists

We circulated an open call-out for artists and out of the received portfolios seven emerging talents were selected. The chosen artists created artworks along the Dhanvantri Road and the Cubbon Park metro station, amongst other locations in the city.

From mythology and mental illness to notions of freedom and co-existence, the artists’ pieces engaged with a wide range of issues, all relevant to the city’s existing milieu.

Deadtheduck - Airavata. Featuring Airavata - Lord Indira's mythological white elephant. But all doesn't seem to be well with it. The image depicts a slowly decaying Airavat, lumbering towards his final moments. The image of a white elephant was chosen by the artist because historically, kings of Siam used to present white elephants to courtiers they didn't like, because the elephants were incredibly expensive to maintain. A lot of the things that the artist experiences on a daily basis, in and around Bangalore are seemingly approaching the same fate - of falling apart at the seams. The mural was an attempt to boil down that indifference into a single image.

Shambhavi singh- An ongoing game of chess holds the key to opening the floodgates. Another mural on Dhanvantri Road, the image symbolizes a power play over Bangalore’s tanks and their system of flows and overflows of water. ‘One who controls water, controls the land!’ Shambhavi's mural couldn't be more relevant, what with the state's bitter fights over water in the recent times

Co exist by Rutwij Paranjape Sameer Raichur

Rutwij Paranjape- Co-exist. He recreated a visual from everyday life to emphasise feelings of brotherhood and camaraderie. Through this piece he wanted to celebrate coexistence. People from different cities and cultural backgrounds often commute and coexist in a metro for a brief period of time, leaving their differences aside. The artist found these brief encounters beautiful and wanted to depict the same feeling to the passers-by who saw it.

Abhimanyu Ghimiray- Let Them Be. Inside the Bal Bhavan. The inspiration for this mural came from the space itself. Once the artist got there, the place took him back to his childhood days, when he enjoyed playing by the swings and doodling on walls, without having much to think about. Back then though he hadn’t realised his interest in art. Through this piece he wanted to convey that kids should be left free to do what they want to do because you never know what interests they could develop. They should be allowed to evolve by themselves, not be bound and moulded into something they may not necessarily want.

Maneki neko by Saksham Verma Pranav Gohil

Saksham Verma- Maneki Neko. As a budding contemporary artist Saksham always tries to create art that is relevant to the spaces and communities it belongs in. When he came across Residency Road, owing to the large number of restaurants that offered East Asian cuisines he noticed the presence of oriental culture in the area. Choosing to visually depict his observation, he painted the "Chinese lucky cat" or the maneki-neko, along with a mix of Indian-oriental patterns that contain symbols of prosperity, love and union.

Raghav Bhalla. A student at Srishti School Of Art, Design and Technology. The theme surrounding the mural was mental illness. His work attempts to start a conversation about this issue. Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety are not very openly talked about in our society. It imagines how someone would feel when they come out of a mental illness. They're likely to feel a mental space that they had forgotten about. A freedom that is almost new to them. The whole process is like being born again. To visually process this, the artist used light tones and organic shapes that simplify the human form and topped it off with imagery that signified happiness to him.

Kashmira Sarode. This artwork in the Cubbon Park Metro Station, was done in earthen tones to echo the mood of the surroundings. The artist said that the mural is a feel-good reminder, inspired by Cubbon park, which encourages passers-by to take some time to relax and enjoy the surroundings of the park amidst the busy city.

EXPLORE OTHER DISTRICTS:

Shilo Shiv Suleman’s Mural in K.R. Market

The K.R. market (also known as City Market) is one of Bangalore's oldest markets. It sells all kinds of wares, but is considered to be one of the biggest flower markets in Asia. In this Flower Market, seeing men weaving, measuring and selling flowers is a common sight. Reading it as a beautiful instance of subversion of normative masculinity, artist Shilo Shiv Suleman chose the market as the setting for a mural.

Art Stations - BMRC Stations

As an extension of our ‘Art Stations’ project, three metro stations - Majestic, Church Street and Cubbon Park, were chosen for art interventions during St+art Bengaluru 2016. Done in collaboration with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC), the artworks tried to encapsulate the spirit of Bengaluru. The paintings placed special emphasis on local environments and the narratives amidst which the metro stations were located.

Daan Botlek Background subtraction Pranav Gohil

City Projects

With its first festival in Bengaluru, St+art brought some of the best Indian and International artists to several key areas across the city. The artists took inspiration from the rich history of the city, depicting its past, present and future, while also speaking about its socio-political realities. Artworks included both murals and installations.

Aravani Art Project Naavu Idhevi We Exist Akshat Nauriyal

'Naavu Idhevi - We Exist' by Aravani Art Project

The Aravani Art Project is an art collective that uses visual arts to create safe spaces for the transgender community. During St+art Bangalore 2016, the foundation collaborated with the collective to create the 'Naavu Idhevi - We Exist’ mural on Dhanvantri Road. The mural features a very significant citizen - the trans-person, and speaks to us of their pertinent existence in today's dense society.