On a sunny day, a man on pavement sits carving something on the walls of the Electricity Board office on Avanashi Road. Intrigued, we get off at the next stop and walk back to see what he is doing. Yama, the god of death, and Lord Shiva are taking shape. The artist is S. Jaganathan, a building elevation designer, who creates art on public walls as a social service.
Jaganathan scoops a mixture of burnt lime, gypsum or cement, sand and water and he slaps it on the walls and shapes it. Jaganathan stumbled upon stucco art at a time he was feeling very depressed. His friend D. John introduced him to it. Today, this helps him earn a living, and do his bit for society.
Jaganathan’s themes relate to the world around him. For example, the Yama and Shiva he is worming on, is to tell people that it is important to wear a helmet. In one half of the work, Yama throws his rope of death at a helmetless rider; in another, Lord Shiva steps in to save a man wearing a helmet. “The message is that the helmet is as good as god,” explains Jaganathan.
Jaganathan funds his passion from the money generated from his stucco art business, Poova Building Elevation Design World. He goes to the homes of his clients to do stucco art work. It costs him about Rs. 15,000 to create a single public wall art, but Jaganathan says that if people see it and take back a message, he is more than happy. “I am able to manage because my expenses are not much. Whatever is left after meeting the monthly budget and his daughter Nivedha’s school fees is set aside for his service initiative.
So far, Jaganathan has worked on nine wall art projects across the city, including Codissia, Race Course and Gandhi Park, and is willing to do more if authorities give him permission. His work carries a social message. He leaves his name and number on his wall art so that people can approach him to work on yet another wall. His next work in about women’s harassment. He works with an associate D. Sabari and completes a wall in a week’s time.
“I don’t want to earn a lot of money through this. I just want to leave a mark on the city,” he says.
Call him at 92452-80844 and 81444-16699 or e-mail poovajagan@gmail.com
