Post-lockdown street art: What are Indian graffiti artists up to?

As graffiti artists are traditionally known to keep a low profile and escape the eyes of the authorities to brand streets with their pseudonyms, many may think that deserted lockdown conditions would have provided them the perfect opportunity to venture out during the night and paint the town red.

However, many Indian graffiti artists preferred to stay home and expand or develop their skills to meet the needs of the time. For them, the lockdown was more about exploring other mediums such as sketching, canvas painting and graphic designing from the confines of their home.

As the lockdown hit every sector in different ways, Mid-day online reached out to five graffiti artists from various parts of the country to understand how the pandemic impacted their work, styles and approach towards graffiti art.

Shift from the streets to canvas and digital painting

Several graffiti artists went back to the basics in lockdown. Zine, who has been into graffiti since 2005 and witnessed the art form's evolution in India, turned to polishing his sketching skills again.

Khatra considers himself a street artist in the day and a graffiti artist in the night. He is currently exploring more of abstraction and typography which falls into urban contemporary art practice. The artwork called ‘We Are' is the longest panoramic mural in India sending a message of shared humanity. It is created by Khatra and A-Kill at Chennai's Indira Nagar Railway Station on the occasion of World AIDS day. Photo courtesy: Khatra.

"I have a lot more sketches now and I'm excited all over again. I've been doing this for quite a while, but somehow I lost my passion for it. So, in a way, lockdown helped me in getting back on track," says Zine.

Similarly for A-Kill from Chennai, who already had a digital art background, the lockdown was all about investing time in research, working on canvases and developing his own style of work, which focused on realism.

"I could look into my own style and focus on realistic paintings. The amount of detailing I was doing increased. For me, it was more like micro improvements than drastic improvements," says A-Kill.

Graffiti artist Khatra, who took up a mini sketchbook project, is already an established graphic designer and illustrator. During the lockdown, he continued his studio practice indoors.

"The pandemic actually gave me more time to explore abstraction and typography on a personal level. Now I'm more into getting a balance between my on-screen (design) and off-screen (street art) art practices. Currently I'm trying to blend my digital rendition and explorations with murals and graffiti and mixed media," Khatra says.

Of course, the allure of the street was not entirely forgotten. Mooz, a popular graffiti artist from Mumbai, could not resist going out into the empty roads which he saw from his window with his crew right at the end of the first lockdown.

Inspired by Hip-hop culture, rap songs and videos, Zine started painting graffiti in 2005. Over a decade later, Zine is still passionate about traditional graffiti style of writing and does not indulge in digital art. The image shows a graffiti painted by him during the lockdown in Aizawl, Mizoram. Photo courtesy: Zine.

"Things were not the same, but like every time, we did have an audience to watch us paint the subway wall. We were cautious and followed physical distancing norms," he recalls "It was a good day getting back on the streets and watching people admire our art after a long time.".

In fact, Zine even ventured out during the curfew to paint an abandoned wall in the interior areas of Mizoram's capital city Aizawl, away from the glare of authorities, who were busy manning the main roads.

"If the authorities see us, we can always run, right? That's fun and that's the rush graffiti artists get when they paint illegally," he adds.

Pandemic-led financial strain

Expanding the scope of their art and doing away with restrictive terminologies - the form is typically associated with anti-establishment messaging - many graffiti artists now also paint murals and other street artworks, which are mainly commissioned projects. As the pandemic left many without work, commercial graffiti artists too felt the financial pinch when the lockdown was successively extended.

Mooz had never focused on the financial aspect of his art before the pandemic. The inability to go out and bomb the street walls with spray paints and the lack of commissioned projects pushed him into considering other sources of income. That is when he took up graphic designing and other digital projects.

"It was a much needed lesson for me. After a lot of research, I started thinking of graphic designing projects and was lucky enough to get a few international clients too. I was already doing some logos and had basic knowledge of graphic designing, but not extensively. I improved myself, started approaching people and because of my graffiti works, people now reach out to me for digital projects too," Mooz adds.

On the other hand, Samsam, a graffiti artist and freelance illustrator from Kolkata, was not very surprised by the pandemic impact on her work life.

"Urban art is never anybody's only source of income. Most artists diversify to survive in this country. Considering independent creators are always in precarious situations for survival, no surprises that the pandemic has been an additional hit. Especially initially, it was very uncertain times, but looks like things are beginning to get better," says Samsam.

Post-lockdown boom in demand for graffiti

As things are getting back to normal - with businesses, small and big, preparing to open up on a grand scale during the festive season - graffiti artists have been flocked with projects and inquiries. Outdoor commercial projects coupled with digital design projects have in a way reduced the time they can spare for the traditional, passion-driven aspects of graffiti such as name tagging, which involves the artist leaving their pseudonym on blank walls, metals, lamps and doors in chalk, spray paints and charcoal.

As someone who specialises in portraits and realism, A-Kill derives most of his graffiti ideas from street life and experiences. Many of his artworks are based on the pictures shot by him. Photo courtesy: A-Kill.

Graffiti and street art aesthetics are now finding their way into corporate and commercial workspaces, so that such murals are seen in restaurants, malls and in-office spaces.

"Graffiti is still in its booming stage in India and its commercial value has been increasing. When we started in 2012, it wasn't the same. Few years later, when people started paying for it, we understood that there was a market for it. We started getting proper projects," explains Mooz, who already has multiple projects on his plate and will be working with well-known graffiti artist NME.

For A-Kill, who had to cancel his international projects due to travel restrictions, the post-lockdown period means working out similar projects. Along with incorporating his own style, he is also able to collaborate with other artists, national and international, based on the requirements of his clients.

"The amazing part was that it was a boon for me, because more people wanted to get their shops uplifted and decorated, they wanted something new to come out. A lot of people wanted to change their space to a more colorful language and be more welcoming," says A-Kill.

The many emerging faces of graffiti

For Samsam, the graffiti community was the first source of inspiration to explore urban art, starting from Kolkata to other parts of the country. Photo courtesy: Samsam.

Though graffiti has its roots in rebellion and dissent against social, political norms and the establishment, the contemporary form has evolved to mainly suit the interests of the artists. From name tagging to painting complete figures, the artworks have evolved to incorporate diverse elements from the streets to anything that piques the artists' interests. While doing so, many have chosen to stay away from political themes.

"For me, it's about painting beautiful pieces, working with my friends and having a nice time. I do have my opinions about certain politicians, but I leave my art out of it. You could leave that to the artist," says Zine.

Contrary to many other artists, Samsam's artworks do have a social and political angle. "Waking up to and witnessing the endless stream of injustice in the country pushes me to try to speak on them in whichever way I can. In spite of any intimidation or the fact that some of our best minds are political prisoners who should not be behind bars at all," she says.

Conversely for A-Kill, who specialises in portraits and realism-that is, taking inspiration from the reality of the streets - making his audience feel unburdened is a priority. "Most of my artwork depends on requests and I mostly don't talk about social or political things. The world has so much negativity, so I'd rather put a smile on people's faces. That's all I have," he says.

Also Read: Theatre of unrest: Where artists capture the suppressed cry of dissent in India