Mapusa Mogi Mural
What is Mapusa Mogi ?
The city with a heart, but no art
The ongoing Mapusa Mogi project headed by artist Orijit Sen is a tribute to one of Goa’s much loved towns.
A hundred-meters-long concrete retaining wall next to the St. Jerome’s Church in Mapusa is the site for my work about the past, present and possible futures of this market town. It takes forward my long and continuing association with Mapusa as an artist, teacher and documentarian.
The artwork is being created by a team that I have assembled. – bringing together young artists from Mapusa and elsewhere in Goa. The process of realising this project has involved a series of public consultations with citizens through meetings, workshops and on-ground research. The objective is to bring the potential power of public art to spark a process of public dialogue and urban renewal.
The depiction of Mapusa here is map-like, but we extend the language of mapping into a polycentric, multi-dimensional and temporally layered form of storytelling — bringing together personal and oral histories with social documentation, environmental studies and even science fiction. Planned as a ceramic mural, it will be one of the largest such works in Goa.
Orijit's Vision
We are a group of artists, designers, architects, researchers and citizens working to re-imagine this site as a canvas for a community-centric project. We aim to create the first Public Art installation of its kind in Mapusa, and hopefully have it spark a longer-term, positive process of urban renewal in our city.
We all know the problems that Mapusa — like so many other Indian cities — is beset with. We live them and experience them everyday: pollution, filth, overcrowding, civic and infrastructure breakdowns, corrupted urban systems… the list is long, and every short-term solution only seems to generate further problems. These are the symptoms of failure—particularly the failure to connect the immense power of technology with artistic creativity, ecological sensitivity, and a commitment to humane development. We have even begun to accept the pervasive toxicity of mind, body, society and habitat as the inevitable price of chasing the chimera of economic progress.
As artists, we believe that art can be a powerful way to challenge such moribund thought processes and propose fresh new perspectives. As artists, we also know that long before one can create something new, one must have the ability to imagine it. And so, on this 100-metre-long wall, we have set out to envision the story of the past, present and collective future of Mapusa in a different way.
Making of the Mural
Like other cities with richly layered histories, Mapusa is composed of a fascinating blend of architectural and design styles, reflecting the different periods of building and construction it has witnessed. We are keen to portray this mix in our mural. Sadly, some of this architectural heritage is fast disappearing under the onslaught of commercial development. Drawing these unique buildings, we were reminded that maybe some of our artworks will outlive their subjects, and our mural will also become a kind of a record of disappeared cityscapes of Mapusa for future generations.
Studio Work
Production Work
Onsite Work
Detailed views
Like other cities with richly layered histories, Mapusa is composed of a fascinating blend of architectural and design styles, reflecting the different periods of building and construction it has witnessed. We are keen to portray this mix in our mural. Sadly, some of this architectural heritage is fast disappearing under the onslaught of commercial development. Drawing these unique buildings, we were reminded that maybe some of our artworks will outlive their subjects, and our mural will also become a kind of a record of disappeared cityscapes of Mapusa for future generations.
Drawing and photography have been our principal methods of study and documentation. We have been spending time walking around the market with our sketchbooks and cameras. The world of Mapusa comes alive around you as you stand still at a chosen spot and observe and listen to the busy market buzzing around you. You begin to start seeing the patterns, understanding the logic. It’s like meditating in the middle of a maelstrom! These detailed images have all emerged from that practise of meditative observation.
The beautiful St. Jerome’s Church is an active space that expresses not only the richness of the Catholic faith, but also the wonderfully syncretic culture of Goa. In this age of global conflict and strife, we are reminded that Goa still stands as an important symbol of unity, peace and brotherhood for the rest of India and for the world at large. From time immemorial, people have prayed for miracles to support them through difficult times, and even today, the people of Goa turn to Our Lady of Miracles or to Lairai Devi for succour and strength. As artists, we are attentively researching and drawing out the community life, functions, and activities of this historic institution of Mapusa city.
Team
