Auto art

Samir Parker wants to engage Mumbaikars with stories of auto rickshaws by giving the three-wheelers a dramatic makeover

Some of Mumbai’s taxis and auto rickshaws have the most eclectic interiors, but few have experimented with the exterior. Which is why, two autos drew curious stares from passers by when they were parked outside Bandra station last week. It’s all the handiwork of Samir Parker.

Samir, whose previous work includes the Roof Tarp Project, which gave the roofs of Mumbai’s shanties a graphic makeover, is now looking at the roofs of auto rickshaws as his new canvas in a project called Autography, which aims to revamp autos to portray them as creatures of the city.

The present series with butterflies compares them the little, colourful creatures. “Rickshaws move around in the city like butterflies fluttering around. The rickshaws are always manoeuvring never stopping pausing, resting,” he says.

He hopes to be able to soon, tell the story of each individual rickshaw. “We have had people plot murders and make out in rickshaws. Autos have seen childbirth and there are all sorts of adventures and stories that rickshaws have witnessed. Each has his own story,” he says. The project currently has on board four auto rickshaws from Murugan Chawl but Samir hopes to bring together 10, 50 or 200 autos to create a larger urban artwork.

Convincing the auto drivers to get their vehicles ‘designed’ is a task assigned to Raju — Samir’s ally for the roof/tarp/city project. “The auto drivers are my friends and I have grown up with them, so convincing them wasn’t difficult because they understood that it’s for their welfare. I got to learn a lot from it,” says Raju.

The ordinary act of catching and riding an auto now has the potential to become a real human engagement or even an urban exploration feels Samir. “I’m seeing this project as something that exists beyond the physical and urban world and goes into a social network. The quality of the graphic right now represents something like a barcode or QR code. I am working towards the skin becoming something that one can digitally read—maybe work with an app, where scanning the skin would connect you with certain online engagements,” he adds.

Samir is self-funding the project and will soon apply for grants. “I’m currently spending about Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,800 per auto. I can’t bring the cost down too much, because the quality will be affected. When I get the funding that I’m hoping for, I want to experiment with radium stickers. Imagine the roofs illuminate at night, adding to the cityscape!” he adds.