A splash of colour: Street art hits the right chord in Delhi

What started as a revolution about two years ago is only getting bigger, bolder and brighter. Be it a wall that has been transform into a portal or a night shelter that has got a bright and colorful makeover, Delhi is witnessing a major rise in the new and more expressive forms of street art. (Text: Aditya Dogra) Lady Aiko, Japan: One of the most important artists to emerge in the new millennium and the founding member of New York's FAILE collective, Lady Aiko has brought her voracious style to the streets of Lodhi Colony with a mural of Rani Lakshmi Bai, one of the most powerful female leaders in Indian history and a symbol for women's empowerment. What made this piece special was the collaborative effort of over 15 volunteers hailing from art backgrounds.

Updated on: Apr 18, 2015 5:23 PM IST

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What started as a revolution about two years ago is only getting bigger, bolder and brighter. Be it a wall that has been transform into a portal or a night shelter that has got a bright and colorful makeover, Delhi is witnessing a major rise in the new and more expressive forms of street art. (Text: Aditya Dogra) Lady Aiko, Japan: One of the most important artists to emerge in the new millennium and the founding member of New York's FAILE collective, Lady Aiko has brought her voracious style to the streets of Lodhi Colony with a mural of Rani Lakshmi Bai, one of the most powerful female leaders in Indian history and a symbol for women's empowerment. What made this piece special was the collaborative effort of over 15 volunteers hailing from art backgrounds.

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Rukkit, Thailand: Rukkit is a street artist from Thailand, who works as a graphic designer and is heavily inspired by magazine, music packaging, typography, and illustration. Bringing his style to Delhi walls, he created two pieces, one of an eagle - in Connaught Place, and the second of a crow - in Gole Market. Both pieces are bright, colourful and showcase the influence of the various styles that the artist draws his inspiration from.

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1010, Germany: His mysterious, portal-like art can give the illusion of a hidey-hole. This particular piece that can be found at the School of Planning and Architecture brings out the artist's strong sensitivity for spaces and his architectonic approach. The work uses rectangles to create an illusion of depth, similar to that of a portal. The colours articulate each perceptual level, guiding the public gaze from the inside to the entrance of the portal and vice versa.

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DALeast, China: Through this artwork, DALeast expresses the most intense and true characteristic of India. He depicts a fast-paced and continuous flow of things that tend to work and find order even in chaos. He has used the architecture of a building in Lodhi Colony to catalyse this concept, depicting the speed and the energy that moves with birds.

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Joao Samina, Portugal: Celebrating the warmth and the calm of an anonymous old Indian woman, the artist takes a portrait by Indian photographer Ved Upadhyay and merges it with his own style. One can spot this piece on the wall of a retail outlet in Hauz Khas Village.

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Axel Void, USA: This piece at the Delhi Cold Storage in Azadpur is part of Axel's Mediocre series and is his interpretation of a still life - one of the most recurred themes in the history of classical painting. The work influenced by classical painting style talks about life in Azadpur Mandi, the biggest fruit and vegetable market in Asia.

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Okuda, Spain: Composed of multi-coloured geometric prints, this piece can be found on the walls of the Lok Nayak Bhawan building in the heart of Khan Market. Okuda's art often raises contradictions about existentialism, the universe and the infinite, the meaning of life, and the false freedom of capitalism. This explosive piece calls into question the notion of Khan Market being a hangout place for only those with big bucks.

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Delhi street art: Painted by a bunch of local artists, these walls speak of a common theme: women's empowerment. Each of the three walls in Connaught Place depicts a woman in a commanding and confident posture interacting with three basic elements - earth, wind and water.

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Olek, Poland: This artwork has taken the blues off the lives of those living in night shelters, literally. Using 9 km of fabric and other materials provided by fashion designers Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora and Rohit Bal, this project covered a night shelter near Sarai Kale Khan and involved housewives, working professionals, Afghan refugees and students - most of them being women. It was supported by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board.