Location: K.R. Market
Artists: Poornima Sukumar with other artists and members of the transgender community
Public art and social message make for a good combination, which is why we find several works in the public realm espousing a cause. Though there isn’t an abundance of these kinds, there exist a few instances like Aravani Art Project. Artist Poornima Sukumar carried out the project earlier this year in the bustling K.R. Market, in collaboration with few artists and transgender community of the area.
An array of geometrical shapes in bright colours occupy the side wall of the building which houses Sangama Office, (an NGO working for the rights of the sexual minorities). She painted the walls with around six to seven members of third sex. “The idea was to go into the spaces where they are comfortable but we are not. We have excluded them from our society and through this project, I wanted to convey that they are very much a part of us,” says Poornima. The project developed organically from a documentary. The artist was assisting a filmmaker, who was making a documentary on them. Poornima didn’t want to leave it at just that, so she followed it up with a mural.
When the project was launched in January, a few transgenders literally became a part of the painting. They stood with their backs painted, facing the wall, signifying that they were not outside the painting but within it. “Since they like bright colours because they feel colourful from inside, we decided on a vibrant palette. The imagery was drawn from geometry so that it was easy to include them. The objective was inclusion. I keep going back to the site and have noticed the sense of pride they take in the art work. They tell people that they have done it.”
After the Bengaluru edition, Poornima took the Aravani Art Project to Dharavi in Mumbai and is now planning to take it to Chennai. She is also working towards a foundation which will facilitate exchange between the members of the community across the country.
(Tell us if you also come across similar spots which have a story. Write to us at artquest@thehindu.
co.in with the exact location and other relevant details and we will feature it in this column.)
