A 286.67 feet tall public art mural made by Italian artist Giuseppe Percivati called ‘Rising Blue’ was unveiled at Centrepoint on Saturday evening. This unveiling was done by panel of distinguished dignitaries including Jameel Yusuf Ahmed Chairman TPL Properties, Amin Hashwani President I Am Karachi (IAK), Anna Rufihno Italian Consul-General for Karachi, Giuseppe Percivati (aka Pepe Gaka) Artist of this mural, Maqbool H. H. Rahimtoola Chairman Berger Paints Pakistan, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar Chairman Karachi Port Trust, Ambareen Thompson Executive Director I Am Karachi (IAK) and many others.
This mural is part of the project that is an initiative of the International Public Art Festival (IPAF) under I AM Karachi (IAK), in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy, TPL Corp and Berger Paints. This mural in on Centrepoint a property owned by TPL Properties (TPL Corp) is ideally located at the end of Shaheed-e-Millat Expressway near Qayyumabad. What makes it ideal, is its proximity to best industrial area of Karachi i.e. Korangi Industrial Area along-with premier residential locality of Karachi by the name of DHA.
Formal proceeding of this unveiling event started off with Mr. Jameel Yusuf Ahmed Chairman TPL Properties welcoming all the guests at this unveiling ceremony. He specially thanked Italian Consulate, Berger Paints, the artist Mr. Giuseppe Percivati and the support staff at Centrepoint for making this record breaking feat possible. He said; “Pepe Gakka worked tirelessly from dawn till 06:30 in the evening to complete this mural”.
chairman of International Public Art Festival (IPAF) Mr. Jameel Yusuf Ahmed said; “this mural traces the stunning coastline of Karachi and the mangroves which supports Pakistan’s eco-system and also is a breeding ground for marine life and birds. It depicts the rise of a nation, of a voice, of the awakening of a conscience of climate change. It is also symbolic of us as a nation: how we keep rising despite our setbacks”.
He also went on to inform that; “the ‘red dot’ on the top of the mural, dates back to Britain’s greatest art rivalry during the 18th century between the nation’s two most renowned painters Joseph Mallord William Turner and John Constable”.
John Constable’s painting “The Opening of Waterloo Bridge” was hung alongside Turner’s latest seascape. The surface of Constable’s painting stood out, leaving its rival Joseph Mallord William Turner in the shadow. Turner retaliated by painting a red dot in the middle of his green sea, changing the entire composition. Suddenly it looked a lot more exciting, experimental and set alight by red in a moment of pure painterly freedom. Turner’s historical red dot had profound influence on the birth of modern art – the concept of ‘less is more.’ Interestingly the red dot also represents the logo of Centrepoint.
Mr. Amin Hashwani President I Am Karachi (IAK) spoke about reclaiming Karachi’s heritage and said that; “we with our IAK initiative are trying best reclaiming Karachi long lost heritage. We are paining the walls and old buildings to attract normal citizens. We have painted more than 5000 spaces and we also have organized musical concerts at various sites one of them being Port Grand. We are trying our best but we would need more from corporate sector and from public sector”.
Ms. Anna Rufihno Italian Consul-General for Karachi spoke about; “mural being a message of peace and friendship and this mural is also a cry of alarm for mangroves and ecosystems of Karachi. With the subject was the conservation of mangroves in Pakistan especially along the coast of Sindh, which was why it was a great gift to Karachi.
She thanked the Italian Artist Giuseppe Percivati (aka Pepe Gakka) for his tireless efforts and informed that “this talented artist had worked in Karachi before at IPAF and also worked in several other countries such as the US, Portugal, Australia and Japan”. She further thanked and also Etihad Airways for arranging transportation and finally to event organizers I Am Karachi for doing valuable work for the city. “Italian Consulate will continue to help I Am Karachi as it has done before”. She concluded.
Mr. Giuseppe Percivati (aka Pepe Gaka) is a mural artist from Italy. His work includes depictions of the relationship between human beings and nature, creating pieces that are in harmony with their surroundings. He said; “this project took about nine days to paint but months for preparation. He first came in July to find a location and as soon as he saw the TPL Tower (Centrepoint) he thought of it as the perfect place.”
He thanked the people behind the project, especially Jameel Yusuf Ahmed chairman IPAF, Ambareen Thompson Executive Director (IAK) and Amin Hashwani President (IAK) for lending their support to him. She specially thanked the support staff at Centrepoint for taking care of day to day needs. Pepe Gakka also mentioned the terrific support and co-ordination from Italian Consulate and his travel sponsor Etihad Airways.
He said; “Karachi is a beautiful city but has been neglected a bit. It’s called the City of Lights but sometimes it’s more like a city of dust. People of Karachi are beautiful. The city can be as beautiful as Milan, Rome or London. I cannot take all the credit for the mural because a lot of people are involved and I would love to do more project like this one”.
Maqbool H. H. Rahimtoola Chairman Berger Paints Pakistan said; “he was honoured to be a part of this record breaking mural. He said this project has been completed with ‘Berger Weather Shield’ paint which can surely withstand extreme weather conditions.
Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar Chairman Karachi Port Trust said; “I Am Karachi (IAK) is doing an extraordinary work for this city and I am proud to be a part of this initiative”. He announced that; “we are embarking upon another project of similar scale, details of which will be announced within next three months and I am sure that this upcoming project will be bring tremendous happiness to residents of that locality but also for the visitors”. He pledged to give a blank cheque to the organizers for this project”.
Ambareen Thompson Executive Director I Am Karachi (IAK) said; “my team and I have been working tirelessly for past four years to change city’s narrative and it seems now that we are getting some level of success here. We are working to create a soft image of our city Karachi and I would request everyone for come forward and support us as you can, be it moral, physical or financial support”.
Ambareen Thompson announced that the International Public Art Festival (IPAF 2020) will be held at the NED University of Engineering & Technology from 07th February 2020 ~ 13th February 2020.
After the final speech from Ambareen Thompson, shields were distributed among the stake holders of this mural after which they proceeded towards plaque for declaring the mural officially open.
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