Bringing truck art back - India's first truck art gallery

India's first truck art gallery, a truck with artwork at the back, is an attempt to bring back a lost genre of art called truck art. According to a media report, the truck was shown at a film institute in Mumbai recently.

Farid Bawa, who came up with the idea, claims that his grandfather had a transport business and he grew up watching artists painting trucks before their journeys and that each artist has his own painting style. Due to the advent of pre-painted trucks and stickers, the demand for truck artists dried up.

He started by handing out cold rolled metal sheets to the artists for them to paint on. He then posted the finished art online and got a good response. This led him to make an art truck and take it to various cities in Maharashtra.

He also claims that every drawing and every slogan has a meaning. For example, the eagle stands for transportation, a picture of deity is there for protection, and pictures of villages are there to remind the drivers of their homes. A drawing of a young Chandra Shekhar Azad is there to show fearlessness and a tiger is also used as it is the national animal. The popular slogan 'Horn OK Please' is used to remind other drivers to honk when overtaking the truck.

Farid hopes to have an all-India tour with more art trucks. You can view more of the artists' work on this website and these Facebook and Instagram pages.

Source: Times of India