There’s been quite a lot of art adorning the state these last few months especially with the art festivals which sprang up time and again. But these last couple of weeks, a few select sites in Goa got yet another colour treatment courtesy hospitality company OYO.
The company recently invited students from NID and MIT to colour up the state as part of its mission to create beautiful spaces and hassle free experiences.
The students were shortlisted on the basis of their portfolios submitted to OYO and set about painting a long wall, of 33*82 ft and a short wall of 33*22ft at Shirodkar Niwas at Tiva Wado in Calangute. A big wall of 15ft*8ft behind Old Secretariat in Panaji and three shop shutters of 6ft*7ft each were also painted in the same vicinity. The students worked alongside OYO’s design team to create these artworks
“The theme was pre-planned. What we had to draw or paint was clear in our minds. It was a great learning experience for me, especially as it was my first public project,” admits Delhi boy Kartik Chadha, a student of photography at The One School Goa who was part of the project along with Tanay. “It feels great to know that our work will be seen on such a huge canvas,” adds Jahnavi Gaba, a Space and Furniture Design student from MIT. Jaimin Makwana from NID who is pursuing masters in Transportation and Automobile Design currently was also part of the project. Jaimin loves creating meaningful artworks which was his sole and soulful motive to work on the project.
“As Goa has been kind to OYO we decided to give back to this wonderful place as a way to show our gratitude for everything in Goa. Our art was inspired by the many colours of Goa. It was also inspired by the famous handmade tiles and the state itself. Keeping in mind the former, we contemporised the tiles and added solid bright colours in the buzzy area of Panaji and also worked with sea-life on the 30 foot building at Calangute,” says Robin Pinto, OYO region head, Goa. Goans were very supportive of the idea and were happy to lend their walls in their effort to beautify the city, Pinto adds.
“I’ve always wanted to work on a wall this big. Climbing up the scaffolding was new and exciting but safety had to be kept in mind. Before climbing up to any section, I had to check if it’s safe or not for our artists to stand for a long duration and work. I enjoyed the logistics of this project as much as the painting,” expresses Harjot Shokey, OYO design team member.
A selfie space
Up-cycling glass bottles in an effort to keep Goa clean and green, 250 bottles and 300 plants were used to create an OYO board at Hotel Shivam located on the Calangute-Mapusa road. The project took two weeks to complete with bottles of the same size collected from various junkyards. In order to reduce the risk of damage it was arranged in a zig -zag manner to avoid water or dust collection. All this for people to take a selfie with it and promote green clean Goa...
The painting girl
#TGLIFE: Tell us more about what you painted as part of this project.
Jahnavi Gaba: It took us two weeks to complete the project, at two places. In Panaji, we painted on the exterior of a beautiful 500 year-old-villa. In Calangute, we painted on two sides of a three-storied building. The wall in Panaji was about capturing the essence of Goa, literally. I played with the space and turned the shutter into a giant phone. My painting is a selfie, with the ocean, the sun, palm leaves and a little Portuguese villa.
#TGLIFE: You worked in collaboration with artists from different institutes. How was the experience?
We were all from different places and backgrounds, so it was very exciting to work together on one common space. We started with our own distinct style and then eventually extended our artwork onto a huge wall where we combined our styles and ideas. It ended up looking extremely beautiful. The diversity and amalgamation of styles, techniques and colour worked really well.
#TGLIFE: Given that you were in an unknown city, how did the public respond to you?
Goa has this way of making you its own! Each day started with a positive note. We had regular visitors and passers-by following the progress of our work enthusiastically, congratulating and thanking us for beautifying Goa. After a point, I felt like a celebrity, as people in the nearby supermarkets, shacks, and even auto drivers began recognising me as ‘the painting girl’. Everyone around us was so warm and encouraging.
#TGLIFE: Was this project different from your earlier works?
I have been part of several beautification projects. I rendered wall murals for TATA housing in an initiative to beautify Mumbai. I have done installation murals for Sunburn music festival, designed and rendered murals for a cafe in Mumbai, but the OYO home wall project was different! The interactive aspect of this project was indeed very inspiring. I got to play with the waves and then paint them onto walls the next day. I also learnt about the fascinating history of the 500 year old villa that I was painting on from an 87-year-old author who wrote books on it! I also got to watch pretty sunsets and then paint a three storied building using these sunset colours for the sea creature we did, all whole harnessed to the scaffold. And I made so many friends in the process. Knowing that people will continue walking by over the years and admiring our work is a great feeling. I’ve always wanted to work on a big canvas like a wall and this was the perfect opportunity for me to really show my art to the world.
#TGLIFE: What’s the message that these paintings give?
More than a message, it was our attempt on giving back. Everyday a little of my design changed as I was always extremely inspired by Goa’s beauty. It was more of a reflection, the colours and textures were culmination of all the absorbed beauty transferring on to the walls.
