Art for the Planet

Feature story - October 13, 2005

BANGALORE, India — Melting glaciers, floods, droughts, heat waves, extreme weather patterns, sea-level rise, pestilence, disease due to Global Warming, form the theme of the interactive art installation that's being coordinated at the Chitrakala Parishad (CKP) in Bangalore by Greenpeace India.

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The mural begins at Chitra Kala Parishad!

Xavier, Lokesh, Sivaram and William, all bangalore based multi-media artists, nature enthusiasts, rock-climbers and keen environmentalists are painting a 11 feet by 30 feet mural on canvas in acrylic colours over five days now. Visitors to the CKP can see the entire project developing in front of their eyes, and add to it as well, if they have ideas or suggestions.

The last few months have been rough on the earth. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States, with a combined toll of more than a thousand, Typhoon Damrey in South-East Asia, which has claimed more than 500 lives, floods in Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar and parts of North India that saw tens of thousands homeless.

While climate science is as yet unable to attribute such disasters to the direct effects of global warming, there is no denying that these phenomena are a stark reminder of what will happen if we continue our over-dependence on fossil fuels and technologies that use gases with high global warming potentials.

Especially when cleaner, greener alternatives are available.

And that's the message that we're trying to send out from the Chitrakala Parishad. The final painting, which will be unveiled on Friday, will depict, in graphic detail and in vivid colors the impact of climate change and global warming on the earth. Greenpeace India is attempting to mobilize consumers to switch to environmentally friendly technologies in their daily lives. The finished product will travel around the country spreading its message of the dangers which come with our dependence on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gas and also appliances which use gases which have very high global warming potentials.

If you'd like to be a part of this project, join us at the Chitrakala Parishad, between 11 am and 6 pm until Friday, October 14, 2005.

See the Climate Change Mural developing.

To find out how you can help, contact:

Srinivas K.

Climate and Energy Campaigner Greenpeace India +91-98451-12130