Important Notice

"The city street is my university. One finds all the themes of life and art-pain, happiness, anger, violence and compassion-played out here in full volume." - JITISH KALLAT

The present lot is part of suite of large-scale paintings of epic proportions that Jitish Kallat executed from 2007 onwards, and continue to address his concerns with the social issue of child labour and exploitation. Executed in epic proportions, this... "The city street is my university. One finds all the themes of life and art-pain, happiness, anger, violence and compassion-played out here in full volume." - JITISH KALLAT

The present lot is part of suite of large-scale paintings of epic proportions that Jitish Kallat executed from 2007 onwards, and continue to address his concerns with the social issue of child labour and exploitation. Executed in epic proportions, this monumental, billboard-sized canvas depicts three young boys-street children commonly seen selling books at traffic lights in the bustling metropolis of Mumbai-that allude to the chaotic, yet enterprising nature of the city. Drawing from a graffiti style pop art idiom, Kallat paints their hair as one collective canvas, containing in it a frenzied world of people and vehicles that populate the city, and "its countless narratives tumbling Medusa-like from each child's head." ("Jitish Kallat," haunchofvenison.com, May 2012, online) With the use of the sunburst pattern in the background-an agitprop (agitation propaganda) device used in Communist posters of the 20th century to glorify political leaders-Kallat subversively elevates them from a position of marginalisation to one of dignity and importance. By pushing the subaltern into a place of prominence, Kallat is likely employing this motif as a call of action, emphasising on the urgency of social change.

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