When the sails went up and the yachts breezed ahead with the wind, cheers filled the air. The otherwise plain sails of the yachts have more than a splatter of colour these days.
Words, trees, beautiful patterns painted on them with brush and paint ornamented the sails giving them a fresh and unique look. The artists in association with Icon Art gallery along with the Yacht Club of Hyderabad transformed the sails with their own signature styles.
Art curator Avani Rao Gandra of Iconart Gallery credits the US consulate who approached her with the idea of spreading the message of World Water Management Day.
“Since they approached me, the expression has to be through the medium of art. So, I thought of painting four sails along with a few other sails and have children paint the other sails,” explains Avani.
Avani says, she was sure not to dilute the individual styles of the artists for this project. After working on the sails for a few days, they were brought back to the Yacht Club of Hyderabad.
“Children from various schools and institutions left their mark on the sails and nothing can have more impact then being a part of something by being physically present and having first-hand experience in a project to send an important message. So, for the six remaining sails we explained the concept of water conservation to the 250 children, life that revolves around water, besides telling them the basic needs of water,” adds Avani.
The fact the they were in an open environment also inspired them to think beyond what they would otherwise paint in an art competition, “which would be the standard, tree, house, family, scenery etc. The children’s observation supported their expressions on the sail. We also designed stencils and gave them spray cans to fill odd spaces in between their pieces. But what excited us all is the look of the sails when the yachts were put on water. The children had interesting things to put on their sails as part of delivering a water management message. From the messages to the drawings, the collages they have created are indeed a piece of art each,” says Suheim Sheikh, of Yacht Club of Hyderabad.
