Sassoon Dock in Mumbai comes alive with art

The salty whiff of the ocean and the smell of the fish market at Mumbai’s Sassoon Dock has given way to vibrant colours from street paintings these days. From a black-and-white portrait of people belonging to the ethnic Koli community to colourful paintings of faces, the walls of the dock are adorned with art, thanks to the St+art India Foundation’s Sassoon Dock Art Project.

The portraits on the walls of the dock are a part of the artist JR’s (goes only by the initials) Inside Out Project, which is a global photography experiment. The close-up portraits aim to capture the diversity of peoples around the world, giving them an identity and become a medium for celebrating their history.

Just ahead, closer to the sea, a sleepy gigantic man looks up to the sky, painted in vibrant colours on a tank by French artists Ella and Pitr. The artists are known for painting sleepy giants and birds with large wings on walls. They were invited to paint for the Sassoon Dock Art project through the French Institute of India and are a part of the Bonjour India fest.

Ella said: “While we want the audience to decide for themselves what they feel about the painting. The idea is to make people stop, rest, think and feel free to dream.”

Pitr added: “The idea is to make people contrast with the rhythm of the speed in the society.”

With newer technologies such as augmented reality changing art, Ella and Pitr are sure that street art wouldn’t change much. “Street art is different because you can’t know street art until you live it,” Pitr said.

Inside the MbPT building, which is now home to most art exhibits, Lek, a French graffiti artist talked to BusinessLine after conducting a workshop. “ I came to India because I like the exchange of ideas that happens when you work with artists around the world,” Lek said.

He also spoke about the various experiences he went through in India serving as an inspiration for the art he would produce. “For example, the Indian trucks are so artistically decorated. I have almost 200 pictures of them,” he said.

Artists from Australia, Singapore, Spain and Denmark along with Indian artists have contributed to the complete makeover of the abandoned MpBT building at Sassoon Docks, attracting people who would not have otherwise visited the 142-year-old dock.

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