Walls: An Infinite Canvas

What are the walls of your city telling you? Join us as we uncover a myriad of stories written in stone.

#documentary #liveaction #streetart

“The point is, art never stopped a war and never got anybody a job. That was never its function. Art cannot change events. But it can change people. It can affect people so that they are changed, because people are changed by art – enriched, ennobled, encouraged – they then act in a way that may affect the course of events. By the way they vote, they behave, the way they think.”

Produced by

LastBench

Featuring

Amitabh Kumar

Gayatri Ganju

Girija Hariharan

Yash Bhandari

Sahana Jose

Film by

Shruti Motta

Sriram Sabhapathy

Raaj Rufaro

Shashank Ganesh

Nikhil Suresh

Written by

Shashank Ganesh

Shruti Motta

Art and Animation

Shruti Motta

Raaj Rufaro

Music and Sound

Niranjan Kotukkal

Shruti Motta

The beauty of the mundane

‍

Sometimes you stumble across certain things that shift your perspective.

Which is why when we paused and began to look at art hidden in the most mundane places, we the beauty of street art.

How it entwines with the city's history, and by doing so, lends a unique flavour to Bangalore.

There is humour, irony, absurdity - and if you look hard enough, perspective.

‍

The beauty of the mundane

‍

Sometimes you stumble across certain things that shift your perspective.

Which is why when we paused and began to look at art hidden in the most mundane places, we the beauty of street art.

How it entwines with the city's history, and by doing so, lends a unique flavour to Bangalore.

There is humour, irony, absurdity - and if you look hard enough, perspective.

‍

The beauty of the mundane

‍

Sometimes you stumble across certain things that shift your perspective.

Which is why when we paused and began to look at art hidden in the most mundane places, we the beauty of street art.

How it entwines with the city's history, and by doing so, lends a unique flavour to Bangalore.

There is humour, irony, absurdity - and if you look hard enough, perspective.

‍

The beauty of the mundane

‍

Sometimes you stumble across certain things that shift your perspective.

Which is why when we paused and began to look at art hidden in the most mundane places, we the beauty of street art.

How it entwines with the city's history, and by doing so, lends a unique flavour to Bangalore.

There is humour, irony, absurdity - and if you look hard enough, perspective.

‍

The beauty of the mundane

‍

Sometimes you stumble across certain things that shift your perspective.

Which is why when we paused and began to look at art hidden in the most mundane places, we the beauty of street art.

How it entwines with the city's history, and by doing so, lends a unique flavour to Bangalore.

There is humour, irony, absurdity - and if you look hard enough, perspective.

‍

Talking to the city

In recent years we have seen street art’s growth in our city and wondered how art can be about questioning things - and we want to involve the public in these questions.

This is how “Walls: An Infinite Canvas” has come about. This documentary, directed by Shruti Motta, our Creative Associate, aims to understand the connection between walls, art, artists and the public.

With the help of various artists and the people of the city, we navigate on a journey of understanding the perspectives, motives and influences behind their paintings and how the people of the city connect with them.

Talking to the city

In recent years we have seen street art’s growth in our city and wondered how art can be about questioning things - and we want to involve the public in these questions.

Talking to the city

In recent years we have seen street art’s growth in our city and wondered how art can be about questioning things - and we want to involve the public in these questions.

Talking to the city

In recent years we have seen street art’s growth in our city and wondered how art can be about questioning things - and we want to involve the public in these questions.

Talking to the city

In recent years we have seen street art’s growth in our city and wondered how art can be about questioning things - and we want to involve the public in these questions.

Over 4 months, Shruti, Raaj and Nikhil interviewed some of the biggest street artists and collectives in Bangalore.

Little by little, we began understanding what the walls were telling us - there were stories of caste, class, and power etched into these surfaces. There was the history of the city in each crack of the paint, in how the art was painted over or censored. The process of making the art was a study in itself - from what drove each artist to paint and what their relationship with their work was. We also spoke to the people of the city, trying to understand what they thought of street art. Some had very strong likes and dislikes while others didn’t really care. Overall, it made for a fascinating gamut of perspectives.

Over 4 months, Shruti, Raaj and Nikhil interviewed some of the biggest street artists and collectives in Bangalore.

Little by little, we began understanding what the walls were telling us - there were stories of caste, class, and power etched into these surfaces. There was the history of the city in each crack of the paint, in how the art was painted over or censored. The process of making the art was a study in itself - from what drove each artist to paint and what their relationship with their work was. We also spoke to the people of the city, trying to understand what they thought of street art. Some had very strong likes and dislikes while others didn’t really care. Overall, it made for a fascinating gamut of perspectives.

Over 4 months, Shruti, Raaj and Nikhil interviewed some of the biggest street artists and collectives in Bangalore.

Little by little, we began understanding what the walls were telling us - there were stories of caste, class, and power etched into these surfaces. There was the history of the city in each crack of the paint, in how the art was painted over or censored. The process of making the art was a study in itself - from what drove each artist to paint and what their relationship with their work was. We also spoke to the people of the city, trying to understand what they thought of street art. Some had very strong likes and dislikes while others didn’t really care. Overall, it made for a fascinating gamut of perspectives.

Over 4 months, Shruti, Raaj and Nikhil interviewed some of the biggest street artists and collectives in Bangalore.

Little by little, we began understanding what the walls were telling us - there were stories of caste, class, and power etched into these surfaces. There was the history of the city in each crack of the paint, in how the art was painted over or censored. The process of making the art was a study in itself - from what drove each artist to paint and what their relationship with their work was. We also spoke to the people of the city, trying to understand what they thought of street art. Some had very strong likes and dislikes while others didn’t really care. Overall, it made for a fascinating gamut of perspectives.

Over 4 months, Shruti, Raaj and Nikhil interviewed some of the biggest street artists and collectives in Bangalore.

Little by little, we began understanding what the walls were telling us - there were stories of caste, class, and power etched into these surfaces. There was the history of the city in each crack of the paint, in how the art was painted over or censored. The process of making the art was a study in itself - from what drove each artist to paint and what their relationship with their work was. We also spoke to the people of the city, trying to understand what they thought of street art. Some had very strong likes and dislikes while others didn’t really care. Overall, it made for a fascinating gamut of perspectives.

Making boundaries and breaking them:

People have responded to our film by sharing pictures of art around their neighbourhood, or telling us excitedly that they have seen the painting and loved it too - and we couldn’t be happier.We want people to not only appreciate the art but to also understand and engage with these spaces better. To recognise the thoughts, effort and reason behind these artworks.

Making boundaries and breaking them:

Walls are generally associated with boundaries and limitations, but through street art, they end up being a medium of breaking boundaries instead. They start conversations and can transform our views of cities, people and society.

Through the film, we hoped to find this connection between walls and street art. To focus on the concept of walls as a reflection of the society we live in. Their scope to transcends books and canvases.

You see, through street art, artists not only expose the cracks in a society they also undermine the most uncomfortable and despicable aspects of it. The aim of this film was to bridge the gap between art, artists and the public that will in turn create a deeper connection with the city - and we hope we’ve been able to capture that with this Original.