Smart City - Sameer Kulavoor

Named after an infrastructural mission by the Govt of India in 2015 to boost development, Smart City is a set of drawings inspired by functional or aspirational adjustments, retro-fittings and upgrades that people make to their physical spaces and structures in dense cities. India's economic inequality, religious/cultural diversity and easy availability of a range of construction materials add more layers to the cityscape.

Having closely witnessed the rapid transformation of urban surroundings and culture in India in the 90s (results of economic liberalisation and the internet boom), Kulavoor's innate approach is to constantly note and understand the impact that time, culture, politics and socio-economic conditions have on our visible and invisible surroundings. His works often address how and why cities look and work the way they do by filtering, dissecting, documenting and defamiliarizing commonly seen subjects and events – often oscillating between instinctive and conceptual methods of making. Through the early 2000s, Kulavoor became widely known for his design and illustration work and set up one of the earliest specialised studios of its kind in India - Bombay Duck Designs. Over the next decade, Kulavoor moved on to focus on his solo art practice that has taken the form of drawings, paintings, videos, sculptures, murals, books, zines and art-prints. He lives and works in Mumbai.

20 Pages
14 x 20 cm
b/w Photocopy
First Edition 2022
200 Copies