Bidisha Mahapatra, a visual communicator, and Radha, a graffiti artist, first met each other while working for an Odia street project, after which they kept in touch and went on to start an initiative called ‘Wallspeak’ in order to spread social awareness by combining graffiti with mural art.

Both born and brought up in the state of Odisha, they were extremely rooted in their indigenous culture, and wanted to express their love for their language and culture through their art. However, since the space of mural art and graffiti is saturated with the blind replication of western hiphop, it was difficult for people to relate to them, or even gain insights into the social consciousness and impact they claimed to spread. The artist duo wanted to change that, and delve into the day-to-day societal problems in India through their art.

Their initiative ‘Wallspeak’ was launched in order to raise awareness about wearing masks in public. They took to the streets with an iconic local cartoon Natia and his famous saying, “Walk the talk!” for the same. The initiative was not only successful in raising awareness, but was also appreciated by the locals who witnessed graffiti in Odia for the first time. Platforms like the Odisha Street Movement and Natia World even picked the story up and spread the word locally.

The entire initiative has been represented through a video they shot.

Check out the video here.

Artists:
Bidisha Mahapatra @bidisha_mahapatra

Radhamadhab Panda @radskull_graffiti

Video:

Mahima Nanda Panda

Edited by:

Anya Ghai @anyaghai

Music:

Snatch- Klint Diamond Soundtrack

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