The portrait, spread over a gigantic 150 ft x 38 feet wall, is being painted by German graffiti artist Hendrik Beikirch (also known as ECB), along with Delhi-based artist Anpu. It will be finished on January 30, the death anniversary of Gandhi.
"When I do portraits of people, I always try to look for a face that tells a story. I will try to say what I want to artistically, but it will be up to the viewer to decide what it means," says Beikirch, who has to his credit a 230ft high mural of a fisherman in Busan, South Korea. Beikirch hails from a town called Koblenz, close to Frankfurt.
This mural is a part of a larger street art festival that opened last week in the capital. Artist and designer Hanif Kureshi and entrepreneur Arjun Bahl, who are organizing the festival, commissioned the Gandhi mural. Kureshi says the idea first struck when he held a street art workshop in Tihar Jail last year. "This is definitely the tallest mural of Gandhi in India," says Kureshi.
"It was a completely blank wall. When we got a proposal from the artists about this, and held meetings with the commissioner, we felt a portrait of Gandhi would be appropriate. It fits in well with the Delhi Police slogan - shanti, seva, nyaay (peace, service, justice)," says S K Gautam, joint CP, Delhi Police.
Kureshi says they settled on Gandhi after several meetings with senior police officials, for various reasons. "Gandhi is an international figure who is admired widely. We wanted to bring a little positivity on the street with this mural. We initially wanted to go with a younger face of Gandhi, but then decided on the more commonly used older one as it is instantly recognizable," he says.
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