GRAFFITI LANES OF SHAHPUR JAT
The alleys of Shahpur Jat
Street art adds charm to the otherwise monotonous roads of Delhi. It amuses, aesthetics, and adds life to every brick of the dull walls. Graffiti culture is really in trend, but not all Indian cities have got painted with pretty Caricatures and characters. In Delhi, there has been a continuous, conscious attempt to do the same in the past few years, especially by the urban art festival, St.ART Delhi.
Among all the places, Shahpur Jat seems to be the most blessed with the graffiti culture. The area is marked with giant graffiti, and every turn at the end of those narrow roads greets you with one surreal view after another.
A Global Project
You may find creatures that are out of sci-fi films or semi-mythological beings with several heads & angry birds about to pounce on you. Still, amidst all these, you might also notice poignant and realistic graffiti of children. Calligraphic styles, innovative characters, illustrations, surrealist creatures, and geometric patterns by artists with strong personal style mark different walls all over the Shahpur Jat neighborhood. The inexorable murals and drawings jump at you because of their size, colors, and sheer displacement of location. Painted using stencils, spray paints, and rollers, artists have spanned the length and breadth of walls through scaffolding, ladders, and even cranes. The local ways of jugaad by hanging down from a jhoola and reaching out from windows and balconies were also employed. Film posters have also been an essential part of the street art tradition in India. Communication designer and artist Ranjit Dahiya have painted famous Bollywood characters as part of the festival. One can see vamp Nadira from Shree 420 with a cigarette holder spread edge to edge on a massive wall.
Initially, it was difficult for them to convince people to get permission to paint their walls. Still, now they have become a distinctive feature in the area, and one can tell you what is painted around a particular house rather than speaking about the plot and lane number
The Creators
Shahpur Jat graffiti has brought together many artists from all over the world. Both homegrown and international artists painted these during the Street Art Festival held a few years ago in the capital, Delhi. These chic paintings give you an aesthetic vibe while shopping. Signatures of Brazilian, Japanese, German, etc. artists are seen on the pretty walls of the narrow alleys. Indian artists have also marked the place. Spot the art on the dustbins, the outer walls of large residential buildings, and even inside the buildings too if you observe. Subject matters vary. In many cases, you won’t be able to find out what the artist is trying to convey, but that also adds to the surreal aura of these art pieces.
Initially, an experimental project carried out in certain urban villages of Delhi, we can only wish that it expands soon, and the entire city gets soaked in creative and stirring street art that overshadows the squalor and commotion around them.