Artist: Manu ParekhMedium: Mixed media on board
Size: 35.5 x 47.5 in (90.2 x 120.7 cm)
Year: 1997
Size: 35.5 x 47.5 in (90.2 x 120.7 cm)
Year: 1997
Manu Parekh’s Benares Graffity is a richly textured mixed-media composition that reflects the artist’s long and intimate engagement with the spiritual and architectural landscape of Varanasi, often referred to as Benares. Executed through a dynamic combination of materials, plaster, pigment, ink, and acrylic, the work carries the raw tactile quality that has become central to Parekh’s explorations of the city. Over decades, Parekh has returned repeatedly to Varanasi, drawn to its charged atmosphere where ritual, faith, decay, and renewal coexist within the dense urban fabric.
In this composition, the surface itself becomes a vital expressive element. Layers of plaster and pigment create a relief-like texture, suggesting weathered walls, temple surfaces, and fragments of urban graffiti that echo the visual memory of the city’s ghats and narrow lanes. The interplay of rough textures and gestural markings captures the vibrancy and chaos of everyday life in Benares, while simultaneously conveying the contemplative stillness associated with its sacred spaces.
Parekh’s use of Earthy tone and spontaneous line work introduces a rhythmic energy, evoking the sounds, rituals, and movements that animate the city. Rather than presenting a literal depiction, the work translates the sensory and spiritual experience of Benares into an abstract visual language. Through this layered approach, Parekh transforms the canvas into a symbolic landscape, one that reflects both the physical presence and the enduring spiritual resonance of the ancient city.
