French artist de MKO on his frescoes at Manaviyam Vidhi in Thiruvananthapuram

When French artist de MKO was asked to paint his work on the graffiti-filled walls of Manaviyam Veedhi in Thiruvananthapuram, he chose to reflect on what the city has been through him. The wall painting, rich in blue and green, features a woman as the central figure. She is surrounded by thick roots, branches adorned with pink flowers, and a rising wave – representing aspects of nature and femininity.

The French artist was in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the fifth edition of Wall Art India, a national festival organized by the Alliance Française Network in India in collaboration with the Embassy of France in India and the Institut Français. The theme of the festival is women, horizons and new voices in urban art.

The work titled Verukal (meaning roots), Identity was inaugurated on 24 February.

“The inspiration for this work is all that I have seen in Kerala and the rest of India during my time in the country,” says the artist, resident of Reunion Island, a French overseas department located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. “We are accustomed to a lot of vegetation and the sea. I consider nature to be the mother of humanity, the one that gives life.”

The artistes were earlier in Jaipur and Pondicherry as part of the festival. In Rajasthan, Dey worked on a mural about women’s liberation in sports. De says, “I was working with girls who were training in football, so we took it as a graffiti theme. In Pondicherry, we did something with the lettering technique, which was assigned to me.”

While the artist was working on this mural, student volunteers from AwesomeMax Animation Academy in Vellayambalam joined the artist. Day says, “I had my own idea of ​​what I wanted to work on. But I also wanted the mural to reflect the input of others. It’s not my wall, but our wall. We worked continuously for three days. It was important for me to see how young people showed themselves on this piece.” “I told them, do whatever you want on this wall without any fear, just like how they worked on the computer. They were allowed to make mistakes and they were allowed to express themselves.”

De MKO with students of AwesomeMax Animation Academy, Vellayambalam and Margot Michaud, Director of Alliance Française de Trivandrum. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The artist is part of a Paris-based group called MKO, which stands for “women of courage. With my art, I fight against violence against women. My identity as a woman is powerful. And for me, it is important to paint women, because they represent humanity.” “My goal as an artist is to enable women to share, create, and come forward in public spaces,” Day says.

Upon her return, Dey hopes to take back with her the generosity of the people she met in Kerala. “The people here are laid-back, unlike France, where they don’t take the time to stop occasionally. I feel at home here as if I were at home in Reunion Island.”