Fort Kochi is a part of the city Kochi, made up of handful of water-bound regions towards the south-west of the mainland city. It is steeped in history and lore, boasting of having preserved a European heritage and a truly cosmopolitan way of life.
It also has the Indian ‘Banksy’!
For the perennially connected smartphone savvy, Banksy is the pseudonymous artist, whose work (which consists mostly of satirical street art and near subversive epigrams with dark, dry wit thrown in the mix) appeared one fine day in the Bristol Undergound scene and has gone on to capture the imagination of millions all across the globe.
The anonymous artist at Fort Kochi goes by the moniker GuessWho, comes out of hibernation every biennale season and splashes the wall with an unique form of art, clubbing south Indian icons with western ones, often with hilarious and visually arresting results with a dash of satire and a pinch of cocky.
Here’s how we decipher GuessWho’s Guess who/what/when/how.
Pic: Mr. Bean. *background cue* Govinda Govinda Govinda Govinda Govinda Govinda Govinda Govinda GoovindaaaaPic: Colonel Sanders cooking up his famous Kochi Fried Chilla!!!Pic: Marx and Engels espousing- Moh Maya, ergo Capitalism, tyaag do. ( Give up materialistic comforts of capitalism)Pic: If looks could kill, mine would cause a genocide.Pic: You don’t want to know how I got these scars… on the dance floor.Pic: Moonwalking and standing on tiptoes is a piece of cake after 8 hours of Bharatnatyam. Or not.Pic: Salvador Dali, “Gentlemen, let’s art now, shall we?”Pic: Che Guevara, “Communism, speaks of the power of the working class. So does this bidi.”Pic: The time when Mona Lisa decided to go all Chikni Chameli on us.Pic: Shikari Shambu supports the Kiss of Love, do you?Pic: I’m the messenger of a non existent God. Or words to that effect. Karl Marx.Pic: Teardrops on my guitar.Pic: Superman to Wonderwoman, “Let’s grow old together. Just like Kuttoosan and Dakini. P.S. You’re my… Kryptonite.”Pic: because we would totally rock sarees in Space. I hope you’re watching, Nolan!Pic: “I got these Louboutins for just 10,000 bucks.” “ Ooooh that’s such a bargain, how could you not tell me.” “ Look at that ugly old hag there, I effing swear they should just shoot all the poor people.” (The above narrative was overheard at a mall and is repeated almost verbatim. Just to put things into perspective)
