Every city talks to you: Raj More

Artist Raj More loves to explore cities. The fact reflects very much in the city-based artist’s paintings. His last exhibition, which took place in 2008, was about Mumbai, titled Lifeline 786. It showcased the essence of the city of dreams and its ‘It’s my life’ attitude.

His latest exhibition is titled C 4 Delhi and depicts the capital city of India with its cultural elements. Interestingly, he has also emerged as the winner for C 4 Delhi among 76 Asian artists at the ‘From Asia to the world’ art contest. The contest took place at EM Art gallery in Korea, this month.

According to Raj every city in the world has a soul of its own which is so different for mother cities.  “Every city talks to you. My current exhibition shows the characteristic elements of Delhi. For instance, the sight of everyone wearing helmets on two-wheelers is overwhelming. In Mumbai, you don’t get to see too many people wearing helmets as a safety measure. Another example is the by-lanes of Delhi which have a mesh of intertwined cables hanging overhead. Also, some bus drivers in Delhi are known for rash driving. They are often involved in accidents,” says Raj.

In Delhi it’s not very easy for a couple to get cosy in public places. One of his paintings titled Keep Safe Distance — Horn Ok Please shows a couple in an auto-rickshaw getting intimate while the rickshaw driver is watching them.

While Delhi may have certain constraints, the city is extremely rich in cultural heritage. Another painting depicts the essence of this with an Ambassador car,  with the Red Fort being reflected in its windshield.

Politics plays a major role in the life of Delhi. Raj says, “All the politicians never pay much attention to the seemingly small but highly relevant issue in India. When recession hit the world, India’s economy withstood it like a strong bull, which is a good thing. Politicians raved about it in their political campaigns. However, they completely forgot the scarcity of water faced by the farmers in the draught-hit regions. Even God seems to have become immune to the suffering of these farmers.”

Raj has depicted this picture in the painting by showing a raging bull on a barren stretch land while Hanuman is flying high in the sky with his eyes blindfolded.