Starting with historic photographs, graphic novelist and muralist Orijit Sen reimagines our visual memories of the Komagata Maru, 100 years later.
Orijit Sen is the vision behind the world’s largest mural, a 7 storey-high painting at Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. This ambitious endeavour took over 5 years to complete and features everything from folk stories, weddings, celebrations, and everyday occurrences that reflect – and define – life in Punjab.
This project is envisioned as an ever-evolving piece with new panels, characters, and scenes added over time. One such addition is currently underway – Orijit is in Vancouver researching the British Columbian Punjabi story. He has seamlessly tapped into the local Punjabi community and been on a series of adventures, from riding Harleys with the Sikh Motorcylce Club to picking blueberries in Abbotsford. And part of the original mural from Anandpur Sahib, “From Punjab, with love,” is currently on display at SFU Woodward’s in Vancouver until July 21, 2014.
While in Vancouver for the annual Indian Summer Festival, the artist created a series of graphic art pieces for a special multimedia concert inspired by the Komagata Maru. His art provided a visual context for performances by Neelamjit Dhillon Quartet and poets Renee Sarojini Saklikar, Priscila Uppal and Phinder Dulai.
Orijit Sen was kind enough to share the striking images in a series of GIFs that rework archival photographs and showcase the artist’s eye for graphic detail, colour and miniature art style.
See images from Orijit Sen’s mural “From Punjab, with love” in the slideshow below.
Written with notes from Naveen Girn. “From Punjab, with love” photography by Nick Siu