Continuing its stride of successful virtual activations in the India market, the Singapore Tourism Board, has now collaborated with St+art India Foundation to unveil an artwork in Little India, Singapore. The mural artwork titled, “Dancing in Unison” is the result of a unique partnership between renowned Indian (Padma Shri) Gond artist Bhajju Shyam and Singaporean contemporary artist Sam Lo, and it sets itself as a symphony of traditional and contemporary visions where India, one of the oldest cultures of the world and Singapore, a modern city-state, come together under a discourse around nature, as a metaphor of what links us all together.
The mural, bears the fruits of many months of planning where both the artists have virtually connected to create this composition. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, it has been painted solely by Sam Lo, on the facade of the Broadway Hotel in Little India on the occasion of Artwalk 2021, a public art festival in Little India. The effort put by both the artistes resonates with the theme of Artwalk 2021, “In Spite Of” where artists overcome limitations and geographical boundaries to come together to realise their creations, made possible by their passions and hopes for harmony for the future.
This is the third time that both the brands (Singapore Tourism Board and St+art India Foundation) have partnered to showcase artwork by talented individuals from India and Singapore. The first was at Sassoon Docks, Mumbai during the 2017 launch of Singapore Tourism Board’s global brand identity ‘Passion Made Possible’ and the second collaboration was two years later at Lodhi Colony, Delhi.
Bhajju Shyam (1971) is one of the primary living exponents of Gond art. He was born and raised in the village of Patangarh in Madhya Pradesh, which is known to be the home for the Gond Pradhan indigenous tribe. Starting as a tradition of decorating walls of homes with relief work during festivals, the art form usually draws extensively from the community’s intimate relationship with their natural surroundings.
Bhajju began his work by filling colours in the works of his uncle, Jangarh Singh Shyam – one of the first pioneers of Gond. Over the years, he has developed his practice as a mix of both traditional folklore to stories from his travels creating a unique contemporary aesthetic of Gond Art. Shyam has published many books which have been released in multiple languages. In 2018, he was also awarded a Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award given by the Republic of India every year.
Sam Lo (aka SKL0/ your friendly neighbourhood Sticker Lady) is a self-taught Singapore-based non-binary visual artist whose work revolves around social commentaries fuelled by daily observations of their surroundings and research into the sociopolitical climate. Their intrigue with the concept of culture and the bold execution in some of their earliest forays into street art dubbed them the “Sticker Lady”, a nickname lovingly given by the city in reference to the saga that was birthed from their work in the streets. Since then, the artist’s artwork- whether installations, large scale murals or digital designs- has been centred on understanding the world around us and how our actions are interdependent on each other. She has previously visited India during Singapore Weekender 2.0 in 2019 where she conducted a workshop and painted a mural in Lodhi Colony. She along with another artist Soph O had also given an artsy makeover to the Arjan Garh metro station in New Delhi few years back.
The mural is getting unveiled on the 21st January 2020, 3:00 pm over the zoom link. Would like to know if you will be able to take out some time and attend the virtual unveiling of the art work where Mr. GB Srithar, RD, IMESA, Singapore Tourism Board and Ms. Giulia Ambrogi, Co-Founder and Curator, St+art India Foundation will also talk about this initiative and how they made it possible at the current scenario. The artistes will also share bytes and a film on the entire initiative will be released at the virtual conference.
