Flashy messages on Indian trucks come alive as art. Paying a tribute to the craft of denting and painting of automotives by small roadside painters, product designer Alex Davis launched his new series of huge installations aptly titled “Dented Painted”.
“The works touch upon nostalgic references to roadside workshops, truck art, auto rickshaws... It took almost one year to put them together. The whole idea was to bring forward the art of traffic graphics on the trucks implemented in the dented painted tradition,” says Alex.
Anchored in nostalgic influences, symbols like ‘OK’, ‘BLOW ON’, ‘STOP’ or lotus symbol, which is found on most trucks, the series of five installations are molded out of metal sheets and varnished with high-gloss paint. “These conspicuously loud installations may appear as though they have been nonchalantly strewn about on the streets. I wanted to paint them in bold colours like red, electric blue etc to reflect the vibrancy and vigour of the Indian highways.”
The artist cites his road trip as the inspiration behind this series. “I love going on road trips. The truck signs and symbols are a usual sight on Indian highways. I came across many denting artistes by the roadside during my roadtrip to Leh and Kochi. It was fun interacting with them about the art and its concept. These are strong and beautiful words, which hold double meaning. Besides just being the popular old art on the trucks, they also spread relevant messages of road sense to the travellers,” he says.
Before this, Alex has also done a series of installations titled ‘Hyper Bloom’, which showcased Indian flowers like champa, marigold, rose etc.
Art, for Alex, is something quirky and innovative. “My works are not based on any conceptual thoughts. It’s just an expression from daily life. I would love to install these pieces along the roadside on permanent lanes of metro cities. They are attractive pieces and will help spread the message of road sense,” says Alex, adding that the works will also be displayed in Chennai, Mumbai, London and Paris.
The exhibition is on till February 18, 2012 at Apparao Gallery, Hotel The Aman, Lodhi Road