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Her latest work — large in ambition and scale — on display at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum,is a sprawling cobweb made of numerous rubber stamps and cast on the museum’s facade. Each has on it the colonial name of a different street in present-day Mumbai,which has been replaced by an indigenous name. The work is in sync with its site as the museum,too,had a change of name in 1975,owing to the rising ethnic politics in the state.

Kallat’s attempt in encapsulating the post-colonial narrative of the city through her work,while keeping with the history of the city museum,won her the commission of the art project by Italy’s ZegnaArt Public — an organisation specialising in public art.

Her brief of the project,conceived in September last year,gave her an edge over seven contemporary Indian artists who were in contention. The artwork was unveiled on March 2 as a collaboration between ZegnaArt and the museum.

Intended to reach out to public beyond the gallery spaces,it found the perfect site in the museum,which has remained one of the most accessible among city’s art spaces.

“The intention of public art is to engage with the community,and goes with the idea of the museum that creates a sense of community,” says Kallat,who also participated in a public art project in January alongside the waterfronts of Mumbai.

In her previous works,Kallat has demonstrated her penchant for scale and scope in her multi-disciplinary work. Here,she gets her most ambitious canvas,which is unlike anything else she’s done before.

“In Mumbai,we get very little chance to make art for public domain because of its congested nature. But here,getting to have the facade of the exquisitely built museum and the natural surroundings of the zoo make for an exciting context,” says the 40-year-old,who works in many disciplines such as painting,sculpture,film,photography and installation.

In its appearance,the cobweb,despite its oddity,juxtaposes itself amid the various details of its environs. “Cobwebs bring to my mind the idea of streets and hence,represent the city. It is also evocative of time,” she says.

The role of public art has sometimes been debated,especially in India,where art is considered a domain of the elite and the common man jostles for space. Tasneem Zakaria Mehta,Managing Trustee and Honorary Director — Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum,however,says that cultural interventions such as this eventually bring well-being to the society. “We can’t say that we should encourage art only once poverty is eradicated. Art should never stop,” she said in an event preceding the unveiling of the artwork.