St+Art Delhi 2014 Vol II : Hauz Khas village and more
Street Art in Hauz Khas Village and neighbouring areas
Hauz Khas Village is a bustling, upmarket district in South Delhi which is a hub of cultural activity in the city.
Until a few years ago, it was yet another urban village. But years of gentrification have led to it becoming one of the most popular hangouts in New Delhi.
Hauz Khas Village and its neighbouring areas were the focus for the 2014 st+art Delhi festival
In photo right:
Okuda, a Spanish artist, has an orientation towards geometric shapes merging with organic forms in bright colours, and his piece made for quite a contrasting visual impact.
Okuda ( Spain )
Okuda ( Spain )
Okuda's piece in Hauz Khas Village
Okuda also worked on a large mural on the side wall of a school building adjacent to the Hauz Khas VIllage's parking lot.
Okuda working on his piece in the parking lot
"“It's like a conflict between the roots and capitalism. My art always deals with such issues. So here I painted a monkey head, a cow head and a bear head inspired by the spirituality of Indian culture. And inside the spirituality of the animals is capitalism, because capitalism is now in India.”
- Okuda (Spain)"
Okuda's piece in the parking lot
M City from Poland uses stencils to carve out mammoth murals. A huge structure of scaffolding was put up for him in a vacant lot in the village, a spot very popular for graffiti and street art. He painted two large walls facing each other.
M City Working in Hauz Khas VIllage
M City working on his wall, with the Hauz khas village lake in the background
The lot where M City painted has seen several tags over the years, and is regarded as the 'wall of fame' in the Delhi street art community. Several taggers have gone over earlier tags, making it an integral part of the Delhi street art movement. So in a way it was fitting that M City drew two large tanks firing paint at each other - signifying the ongoing paint wars that take place there regularly.
M-City's Wall (The left side)
M-City's Wall (The right side)
Bond (Germany) and Ano (Taiwan) met a few years ago when Bond was travelling across Taiwan, and they collaborated on a few pieces. Since the beginning of the festival, they had been looking for places to do a wall in India together. Four weeks into the festival, they finally got their chance.
BOND's sketch for his wall
They found a rooftop in the village where they began working on their combined piece.
Bond and Ano working on a collaborative piece
Two girls from the adjoining building hung around the whole time Bond and Ano were painting, asking questions, telling them what they liked and didn't like about the painting.
Ano works on curious residents hang around
Bond + Ano in Hauz Khas village
Meanwhile, Artez from Serbia was busy working on his wall in Malviya Nagar in South Delhi. His wall was across the road from a school, so he would frequently have groups of kids hanging around, asking him questions.
Artez (Serbia)
"“I've been to Jaipur and there were these langurs making a mess. They were chasing other monkeys away too but they were breaking glasses in cafes and stealing food. So that was the first thing that came to my head - man with a strange hat and why should there not be monkeys? Monkeys are cool!”
- Artez (Serbia)"
Artez's Indian man with a strange hat
Curator + Photographs—Akshat Nauriyal
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