Credit: Special Arrangement
The Bengaluru airport’s art programme was unveiled recently. Currently 60 artworks are on display at 13 different locations in Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport.
They are inspired by two themes — Karnataka’s culture and heritage, and the naurasas or nine emotions from ‘Bharata Natyashastra’. The works have been created by 43 artists and include paintings, murals, sculptures and interactive installations.
Panoramic photographs of trees have been placed in each of the three vestibules at the terminal. A piece titled ‘Flights of wonder’ has been installed in the domestic arrivals area. The 7.5X15 feet artwork is by Ravikumar Kashi and features bird formations or murmurations. It is made with lightweight wood, lacquer and plywood. It invokes the emotion of adbhuta or wonder, in keeping with their naurasa theme.
For ‘Six-sided pacchisi’, artist Yayati Godbole turned to the board games created by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar Bahadur III. He has created a total of 12 pieces in the series. This particular piece, placed on the floor near the domestic departure area, is Yayati’s version of the popular game pacchisi. It is a 10X10 feet piece and features black inlay on white granite. Travellers can interact with the piece if they choose to.
The work titled ‘Spiral of life’, by the first woman string puppeteer Anupama Hoskere, features nine puppets, each depicting a different emotion and maintaining the art forms of Karnataka. The puppets have been created with wood and fabric. The costumes and jewellery of the puppets, all crafted by Anupama herself, are installed at the domestic departure area.
Another highlight is a sculpture by artist Arunkumar H G. Titled ‘Impinged’, it is a sculpture of an elephant constructed with recycled paper pulp, cement, aluminium mesh and wood glue. The artist took cues from the elephant image on the open rock face of Arjuna’s penance in Mahabalipuram.
About 14 bronze statues, curated in collaboration with department of archaeology, museums and heritage, will be changed regularly. They are placed at the domestic check-in area and the area after the security check.