French artist Olivia de Bona plans to carry back the colours and diversity of India with her

Sheetal

The three-day Wall Art Festival took off at Alliance Française, Sector 36, on Tuesday. French artist Olivia de Bona left visitors awestruck with her intricate and thought-provoking art.

As a part of the festival, Kid Kreol, Boogie, Olivia De Bona, Neethi and Poes will paint city walls in various parts of India. Just like Olivia, the artists will mix their cultural experiences and their understanding of their host cities in their wall murals, leaving an imprint for the years to come. Chandigarh is the first city from where the festival began.

Olivia de Bona is known for her rich and colourful universe, close to illustration. Olivia says, “I will gift this wall to Chandigarh, India and in return will take the colours/diversity of India with me. Let India put colours in my life is the best title I could think of for my ongoing work of the wall mural.”

The artist was swayed by the vibrancy of India. Explaining her work at Alliance Française, Chandigarh, she says, “I’ve created this piece of art with a little bit of both France and India as a gift to the French learners so that whenever they come across this wall art, they can connect with the Parisian architecture with Indian diversity.” After Chandigarh, she will be travelling to Thiruvanantapuram, Pune and Bhopal. “For City Beautiful’s mural art, I incorporated a few emblematic motifs to represent the French architecture in a city created by Le Corbusier. I reclaimed a certain idea of France and allowed it be invaded by lush vegetation and fauna typical of this corner of India,” she adds.