Painting a story on every wall

Graffiti art, once considered work of the rebellious, is transforming and aesthetically enhancing the city

One of the popular epithets of Bengaluru is that of the ‘IT capital of the country’. But the number of graffitis that has mushroomed across the city in the recent past has helped the city earn another tag — ‘Graffiti City’.

For the longest time graffiti was considered vandalism. It was also used as a form of protest, the best example being the erstwhile Berlin Wall. Graffiti culture which is popular in cities like London, New York, Paris and Berlin is catching on in namma Bengaluru as well. Many dull, drab and often dirty walls of the city are transforming into open galleries with colourful and meaningful graffitis or street arts.

The earliest manifestation of street art in the city began with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) attempting to beautify the walls of the city by commissioning artists in 2010.

The BBMP’s hoping that this would help prevent sticking of posters and graffiti, while also highlighting the heritage of the state.

The beautification exercise had different themes. The walls of schools and colleges boasted of educative and patriotic messages and paintings. Walls alongside Airport Road had pictures of India’s tourist destinations, Kanakapura Road had stencil paintings of nature, and Bannerghatta Road had pictures of animals. Over the years some of these paintings have faded away.

Over the past decade, some internationally renowned graffiti artists visited the city.

In 2012, German graffiti artists joined hands with the Malleshwaram Accessibility Project, Jaaga, and Goethe Institut as a part of the Avant-Garde project.

In November 2015, Parisian graffiti artist, Marko Clement aka Marko 93 revealed his signature light-painting techniques. His wall paintings were visible on Church Street and Rangoli Metro Art Centre, where he created a mural along with local artists. Alas, it has since been removed.

Stinkfish, from Colombia, demonstrated his vibrant art in many parts of the world, including Kalyan Nagar.

The various metro stations of the city have become a canvas for graffiti artists. Many of the pillars of the metro rail have been painted with colourful geometric patterns.

The Bangalore Division of South Western Railway transformed the Cantonment Railway station by adorning it with life-size paintings of Kempegowda, Yakshagana artistes, Mysore Palace and the stone chariot of Hampi.

Over the years, some graffiti works have worn out. Some have been painted over. But the message is still alive and vibrant.