Wall art that makes people stop, and think

Making a point

With the ongoing St+Art Festival, many defaced and drab walls across the city have been transformed with bright murals. But these paintings are more than just visual treats. Many of them convey strong social messages and the mural of the Aravani Art Project is one such.

Bengaluru-based artist Poornima Sukumar and her team has painted the wall under a railway bridge on Dhanwantri Road. ‘Naavu Iddeve’ or ‘We too exist’ the caption reads, next to the brightly painted face of a transperson which the viewer can interpret as male or female. Fiery red hibiscus flowers, which are hermaphrodite, are painted around this image to suggest that identity can be beyond male or female.

“I discussed with Nisha Gudalur, a member of the community, and we decided that the message shouldn’t be too forceful and we did not want to portray transgenders as victims seeking sympathy. Finally, we decided to address their basic right to be acknowledged and accepted,” Sukumar explained.

Taking the message beyond just drawing on the wall, Sukumar involved people from the transgender community in the process of conceptualising and painting the wall. They loved that they were not just subjects. Most of the painting was done by them. A wall painting in K R Market, the first one of the project, also had participation from the community.

The painting was making a stir even while in progress. “Several passers-by would stop and ask us about our work. Some of them asked questions which initiated a discussion about transgenders, a topic not usually talked about,” Sukumar said.

The  Aravani Art Project is all about increasing such interactions between the mainstream society and transgender community and Sukumar’s efforts have created ripples. “Many of my friends had never spoken to transpeople and they knew nothing about them. Through this project, they got to interact and now they have become good friends who meet up and get together like any other group of friends,” Sukumar explained.