THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

Raghava K.K. seeks to spark conversations on art and democratise it through his new project on social media

- MINI P. THOMAS

Raghava K.K.’s work is everywhere. Be it the double-headed tiger that adorns Sachin Tendulkar’s living room, the backdrop used by American folk singer Paul Simon on the global tour of his album So Beautiful or So What, or his recent much-talked-about art collection on Instagram titled Eye Candy, the artist has made his mark around the world.

“Art beyond the gallery into the world at large, that is my dream,” said Raghava. “A painting should not just be a commodity. It has to be more than that. It has to be something that inspires people to live the best versions of themselves.”

The Bengaluru-based artist has come a long way since his days as a newspaper cartoonist. Raghava experiments with diverse media such as painting, sculpture, charcoal, iPad art, film and installation. In 2010, CNN called him one of the ten “most fascinating people you have never heard of” after Raghava’s speech at a TED Conference in California.

On his travels, Raghava has often produced works for many a global figure. On a trip to Morocco in 2001 as the guest of the famous artist Farid Belkahia, Raghava learnt that Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco was a lover of art. The princess bought one of his collaborative works. “It was an 8x10ft work with a world map on it, celebrating global peace,” said Raghava. “Farid was my guru, and it was because of him that we were able to make the collaborative piece for Princess Salma.”