Chennai International Airport has installed new artworks in the arrival and departure areas. One of those artworks is suspended from the ceiling parallel to the wall, adopting a unique installation at the airport. The mural shows Tamil Nadu’s global context.
Artwork With Archaeological Marvels of Tamil Nadu
Artwork With Archaeological Marvels of Tamil Nadu The artwork at the departure intends to show how the Chennai airport has become the gateway for the people of South India to explore the world. Another sculpture at the arrival indicates how Chennai attracts tourists from across the globe. It showcases a cross-section of lotus in gold colour. Petals exhibit the archaeological marvels of Tamil Nadu, while as tourists in the centre, gaze up to the structures.
The artworks at Chennai airport are designed by Sunny Sistems, an art gallery based in Chennai. The art gallery is associated with Chennai airport since 2013. When the association started, it was decided that the artworks in the airport will focus on the culture of Tamil Nadu. It has completed implementing 37 mural artworks and two sculptures in the premises of the airport. In 2015, the art gallery did a replica of Mamallapuram temple in the domestic departure area and a sculpture depicting seven women playing pallanguzhi, a traditional ancient Tamil game.
Airport Promoting Public Interaction With Art
Though Sunny Sistems decides the concepts of the artworks, the artists behind them are from Chennai and Thanjavur. “The artists from Thanjavur has done the terracotta installation outside the AG-DMS metro station,” explained Ravi Dandha of Sunny Sistems to The Hindu. The said installation is a mural work that takes the form of a clock indicating that metro connectivity saves time.
“The involvement of the public is limited in any other form of art. When it comes to public art, especially in spaces like the airport or CMRL, there is no question of ownership. It’s not ours or the authorities’, but it belongs to the people who pass by it,” Ravi said.
