Fish Out of Water․
In collaboration with Greta von Richthofen
The Goethe-Institut has been working with artists from across the globe to create Graphic Travelogues, a digital platform dedicated to comics, focusing on the subject of travel since 2019. Taking this journey to another dimension, the Goethe-Institut and St+art India launched an open call to invite one German and one Indian artist to collaboratively work on two murals – one in Delhi’s Lodhi Art District and the other in Kannagi Art District, Chennai.
The selected artists, Greta and I, were encouraged to work on thought-provoking ideas about the meaning of ‘travel’ from a broad lens. We imagined, designed, sketched, and painted both murals, which are an ode to travelling without boundaries.
Photographs courtesy of St+art India
During the unprecedented time of the pandemic, when physical travel and any kind of free movement was halted, Greta and I found ourselves tucked away with our thoughts, and were transported to an ocean of imagination. Exploring the idea of ‘traveling in the mind’, we saw it as a journey that anyone can make, regardless of culture, background, or spatial limitations. From an expansive lens to a site-specific one, we included hyperlocalised elements that are symbolic of this journey. Depicting local flora and fauna, traditional and historical elements inspired by Mughal architecture, and fantastical creatures – the work in the Lodhi Art District further explores travel to one’s past, through a shared nostalgia.
Photographs courtesy of St+art India
Greta and I undertook a unique challenge through their mural at the Kannagi Art District. We hope to help the audience explore travelling using one’s mind and imagination. With a little help from the local flora and fauna, and fantastical creatures, we produced an artwork that seeks to emphasize the sense of discovery that traveling entails and offers a meaningful and enriching experience of life at large. Both murals connect to one another by showcasing the positive power and immense possibilities of creativity and imagination, which enters the mind in Chennai and flows out of the hands in New Delhi.
I applied for this project with St+art and Goethe because I felt that this would be a great opportunity to impact the public realm in a meaningful way. This is something most young architects like me dream of. Working with Greta has felt like creating with my better half! We are both so excited to see our drawings come to life.
-Aashti Miller
Developing a work of art together with the Indian artist Aashti has been such an exciting process and through it, I have learned so much about India. Although we grew up and live in different countries, we have something in common - the joy of drawing - which we hope shines through in our murals!
-Greta von Richthofen
Press Coverage․
Goethe-Institut Brings Together an Indian and a German Artist to Work on Murals in Delhi and Chennai, National Herald, March 2022
Paint the Town, The Pioneer, March 2022
Kannagi Art District in the Making: 7 Blocks Turn Canvas in Tamil Nadu, The Times of India, March 2022
Flying Fish, Flamingo on Cycle, Owl on Skates brought to Delhi by Indo-German ‘Fellow Travellers’, Times of India, March 2022
Mural of the Story: Artists are Taking Viewers to a Fascinating World of Colours by Creating Public Art in Several Parts of the Country, The Financial Express, March 2022
Six More Walls in Chennai’s Kannagi Nagar will Sport New Murals, The Hindu, March 2022
City of Murals: Public Art Reflects these Tsunami Survivors' Resilience, Money Control, March 2022
Out of Water, On the Wall: Lodhi Colony’s Latest Mural Breaks Travel Boundaries, FirstPost, March 2022
