Art Street: Installation in Mumbai’s Bandra pays fitting tribute to icon Leander Paes who made waves in world of tennis

The art installation has been designed and conceptualised by Mumbai-based Krishna Kedar, who took inspiration from the city of Mumbai. Work on the installation was commissioned by the RPG Art Foundation as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Speaking to The Indian Express, Kedar elaborated, “When I was commissioned to work on this project by Harsh Goenka of the RPG Group in 2018, I started researching about Leander Paes’ life and was very inspired by his story. Like a wave in the ocean, which overcomes every obstacle that comes its way and re-emerges in a new form, I found that Paes too had overcome a lot in his life and made India proud. Therefore, I designed an art installation in which I drew a parallel between Paes and a wave.”

Kedar erected the installation, weighing approximately 600 kg, within six months after having brainstormed over the concept for a few months. “I did not want to create a typical, common statue. But at the same time, I did not want to design an abstract design that the general public would fail to understand,” said the JJ School of Art alumnus.

Explaining the concept and the aesthetics of the installation, Kedar added, “To symbolise his journey and pay him the perfect tribute, I designed the artwork using tennis rackets to represent the many matches that Paes has played for India. Furthermore, while Paes was symbolically structured within the form of the wave, the court underneath has been painted blue to represent the ocean.”

Asif Zakaria, former Congress corporator from Bandra (West), said, “The BMC allotted the space to RPG Art Foundation and provided them all the back-up required to install the structure. The civic body has been taking several such initiatives to beautify and enhance small spaces across Mumbai. Not only do such initiatives offer encouragement to artists, the installations also convey a message to Mumbaikars with their themes.”