Swathi and Vijay are scaling great heights as a couple. But they aren’t rock climbers or mountaineering enthusiasts. The two are artists and the heights they scale are those of buildings and walls, for gigantic street art. The works of the couple are often talked about on social media because they aren’t restricted to just galleries and international shows.
The couple’s philosophy with art goes: “We have always seen and conceptualised human beings as social and spiritual beings with a purpose in life. Our work thus deals with people, their psyche and their involvement with several issues in the social framework. We like our work to be interactive and public friendly, inviting people to like, dislike, comment and generally get involved with the subject.”
The couple’s first street art work which created a buzz on social media was a painting of freedom fighters on the Jubilee Checkpost. However, that wasn’t their first public art. The couple says they do most of the art work with permission from owners at construction sites and public places with an assurance that it will not lead to any controversies.
But what brought them instant recognition is the painting of the boy on the wall at Necklace road near the MMTS station. This was done during the recent Telangana street art fest. Their current art work which is awe-inspiring is a painting of a gigantic Charminar on the exteriors of Zaiqa-e-Hyderabad, a restaurant in Banjara Hills. This isn’t just any ordinary painting which the duo have done; the painting has a 3D effect complete with visitors atop the Charminar, thus reflecting the couple’s eye for minute details. When one stands against this painting for a photo, it can easily be mistaken for the real Charminar in the Old city.
Most of the time, they make use of spray cans to paint. Only on certain instances they make use of exterior paints and brushes.
Busy with commissioned outdoor works is mostly for beautification works of government school, hospitals and public places, the duo prefers to spend their free time looking for spaces to paint a public message. “A positive one. We do not use art to vandalise public property. Art has many uses and sometimes it can be used to beautify and force viewers to ponder,” says Swathi, the more vocal and articulate of the two.
Vijay on the other hand is tech savvy and loves to describe every work of theirs by explaining it on his iPad. Otherwise he loves to set his hair a million times and make sure he is as perfect as their paintings.
The duo met when they were students of art and their discussions of art created a bond long before they entered into marriage. Swathi who hails from Khammam, isn’t timid when it comes to climbing heights and with “Vijay around as a partner it is more than assuring when climbing rickety ladders. We both enjoy our work and love to make it as real as possible.”
Vijay says that as artists and a couple, most of the time they are like kids with colours. “Ready and excited to paint; that’s why we meet every deadline much ahead of schedule,” he smiles.
Preserving street art
In June 2014, Google launched a ‘Street Art Project’ to list and preserve, in digital form, works of Street Art
