Mumbai is an ever-changing city. No true-blue Mumbaikar is particularly surprised by anything that suddenly appears overnight, be it a new bus stop, a new hoarding or a new work of art. And art of varying quality does make its presence felt in the city, from the small marble sculpture dedicated to singer Mukesh near Kemps Corner and the more reviled and colourful ‘cows’ just outside Churchgate station to the dolphins at Worli and the rhino at Nariman Point – both by Arzan Khambatta – and the mural on the dockyard wall by Brinda Chudasama Miller. And now, there is a new one that is causing a few waves…Chintan Upadhyay’s babyhead (City of Dream), installed in Nariman Point. This is part of a plan by industrialist and art-lover/collector Harsh Goenka and the RPG Art Foundation to activate major traffic intersections in the city with installations by contemporary artists. The first phase has three well-known names displaying their work at strategic points in the city – Upadhyay, whose brilliant red ten-foot-high babyhead was unveiled recently; Valay Shende, whose 13-plus foot tall Dabbawala made of stainless steel discs is destined for a spot just outside the heritage Crawford Market building and who is “very happy to contribute to Indian culture, to the development process”; and Jaideep Mehrotra, whose untitled sculpture will be shown off soon. Curated by Anupa Mehta, who explained that it was “an extensive selection process - about 15 artists were invited and three shortlisted”, the project is sure to make Mumbai an even more interesting urbanscape for residents and visitors, alike.
Harsh Goenka, the passionate mind backing the plan spoke enthusiastically about his latest drive to bring art to everyone.
How did you choose these artists and the works for public display?
Along with curator Anupa Mehta we came up with a list of artists that was based on people who are associated with the city of Mumbai. So far all the themes have been ‘Mumbai’, and what it signifies. We have also taken care to brief the artists that nobody’s sensibilities should be hurt.
Chintan Upadhyay’s babyhead has all the stories of the city. Valay Shende’s Dabbawala personifies the person who is to me one of the icons for the common man, one of the greatest success stories of the city— an uneducated man who cannot read the language but has a Six Sigma certified delivery system, a man who has become a Harvard case study. And then, there is Jaideep Mehrotra’s Sachin Tendulkar—a Mumbai icon, an Indian icon and a global icon too—that will be unveiled very soon. We decided to look at artists from Mumbai who understand the city’s identity. And we got applications from a lot of them, who sent sketches. For the first round we chose these three. And there is also Arzan Khambatta’s Rhino, which signifies speed and a tough hide that nothing penetrates, showing the insensitive side of the Mumbaikar, and that sense of urgency.
We wanted artworks that are not esoteric in nature, works that a common man could relate to. The more in your face it is, the more the common man will appreciate it. The rationale is simple: people do not always go to art galleries, so why not bring art to the common man! We will slowly get other artists with international stature from Mumbai and outside to create works that could become like Anish Kapoor’s Cloudgate in Chicago.
Why public art?
I hold art shows every year and found that there was a niche. The audience would be the same old faces and the show would be over soon; there was temporariness to it. So I wondered; how to create permanency, show art off to more people. I am in fact not doing an art show this year. When I started, artists needed a lot of support—they don’t need it now, so I have changed the whole concept into showing art in public, also to beautify the city. We are going to place them all over the city, not just in South Mumbai.
Will people respect this art and not damage it?
I hope the works are not vandalised. We have the habit of destroying anything that is beautiful. It is partly our responsibility to see that it is well-lit, clean, and there is a good environment around it, but you cannot be 100 percent responsible for the behaviour of the common man.
Is there an education process also involved, telling the public what the work is about, why it is there, who the artist is…
We will put up plaques to explain—artists never like to explain their work. The artworks so far are fairly explicit.
Should corporates take on the responsibility of installing and maintaining art of this kind?
There is no ‘must’ about it. Each corporate has CSR — corporate social responsibility — and will make contributions in some way. We ourselves do work in environment, education, etc.
Chintan Upadhyay:
The controversial Chintan Upadhyay has already seen viewers respond to his new work. He says, “It was a great experience to see the public reaction - first they wonder, ‘What is this red head doing here?’ and slowly they go closer and start looking the details. It is nice to see the curiosity in people and many are ready to take some time off from their busy routine and spend it at the site. I am very happy with the site and the sculpture. I have been in touch with many on Facebook and they are congratulating me on giving Mumbai its first contemporary sculpture in a public place. They want to see more events of this kind.
Mumbai has produced so many artists who are representing India all over the world and their works are creating a dialogue, not just beautification. I want to see every corner of the city create a new dialogue, to let people feel why art is so important. I have also got criticism about the work and feel that people have the urge to exchange and express their ideas – which public art projects can provide. I hope more initiatives like this are started by private companies and the corporate world and that they invest in developing the cultural and critical environment to project diversity and dynamism of the city.”
Jaideep Mehrotra:
The brief was to combine cricket and art, the two areas that the RPG group has been supporting. They requested me to create an artistic connection of Sachin Tendulkar, as the legacy of Indian cricket.
I am happy with the outcome of the work. I tackled it on various levels. The aesthetic was initiated as an abstract, while keeping in mind the theme of Sachin, the personality. I was excited with my choice of material for the works and the quality I succeeded in attaining for both sculptures. I used carbon fibre and an aluminium alloy and managed to manufacture them in a factory which specialises in making Formula 1 cars!
For a work of art to have an impact on the viewer, an intrigue is always welcome. I played around with it to create a kind of an optical illusion, which you encounter as you drive past the traffic island.
The sculpture looks like an installation of vertical bars, but at one angle, the viewer gets a glimpse of Sachin's face. I hope people will enjoy that.
For the second sculpture, I created his face using text, in keeping with my current preoccupation of decoding a digitised world, where the perception of reality actually sits in a binary code in a cloud.
The text is a quote from Sachin that states: ‘When people throw stones at you, turn them into milestones.’
