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A TASTE OF ART

‘THE FLIGHT’ BY YUSUF ARAKKAL

Yamini Telkar – Head, Art Programme – analyses the artist and his piece of craft that is mounted at BLR Airport Arrival Hall.

T The T1 Domestic Arrivals corridor features a mural - ‘The indicative of the heterogeneity of his work.

Flight’ – a piece of work crafted by renowned artist Yusuf
Crafting an aircraft mural wasn’t something unfamiliar for
Arakkal. Born at Chavakkad in Kerala in 1945, Arakkal
breathed his last on October 4, 2016 in Bengaluru— his home for Arakkal, who had worked at HAL in the early 90s before taking to
art as a full-time career. He also redesigned the logo for HAL.
54 years after having arrived in the City at the age of 17. The Flight – a towering work of art, about 16 feet wide and 7 feet
Acclaimed for his art, Arakkal was the recipient of several high – appears to be an abstract piece at first glance due to its
prestigious awards, including the Lalit Kala Akademi Award (1979 geometric shapes and burst of energy, but with a closer look one
and 1981), Shiromani Kala Puruskar (1983), Raja Ravi Varma will identify the familiar shapes and forms of an aircraft!
Puraskaram and a special award at the Third Asian Art Biennale in This is what the artist said about his work, “The concept for this
Dhaka (1986). work is derived out of my interest in dynamic moments of flight.
Having studied at the Chitrakala Parishat, Arakkal went on to In my formative years working in an aircraft industry in different
showcase his craft at over 38 cities in India and abroad, including positions including designing - I have come across the materials,
London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. Arakkal’s artistic machineries and mechanics of flight and aircraft. This idea of an
creation always depicted people, and his signature colour palette abstract concept for this work is the result of that knowledge.
was monochromatic with a preference for earthy tones. With his The material is stainless steel, considered because of its
unique craft, he demonstrated versatility in his work. His mural multifarious options like the polish, texture and gloss it takes, and
‘The Flight’ at the Arrival Hall – commissioned in 2013 – is also its almost maintenance free existence.”

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