In the organized chaos that is Chennai’s Kannagi Nagar, a white facade of a three-storey building captures ephemerality like no other. It carries a mural in grey that only appears when the sun rises. The artwork is an intelligent shadow play that highlights a crisis that the resettlement locality, situated some 20-odd kilometers from Chennai city, faces every year: water shortage. This daily emergence of the image mirrors the neighborhood’s wait for water, encapsulating a repetitive cycle of longing and survival. For Daku, also known as Hanif Kureshi, time has always been a medium for expression, a conduit for his art.
In 2022, the streets of Fountainhas in Goa were introduced to dancing alphabets that played to the rhythm of the sun. Hanif compared the catastrophic pandemic to the Spanish flu, emphasizing how history often repeats itself. Yet as the country mourns the artist’s passing following a year-long battle with lung cancer at the age of 41, it’s hard not to wonder if his favoured medium of time could have been more forgiving.
“Daku. What a badass, right? To make such political, powerful, and fearless public art interventions in India when public art was barely acknowledged,” said artist Shilo Suleiman. Hanif was not just a mentor but a visionary builder within the community. His contributions have left an indelible mark on the people he mentored and collaborated with.
One significant project Hanif spearheaded was in Mumbai’s Sassoon Dock. Here, artist Guido Van Helten spent days photographing local women working at the docks. Their vast portraits now grace the warehouse, testament to the 142-year-old traditional business. Hanif was the driving creative force behind this initiative, further establishing his legacy of intertwining art with everyday life.
“What he has done with the street art community, how he brought us together and created opportunities, and infrastructure is unparalleled,” continued Shilo. Hanif is remembered by a consortium of adjectives: voracious, inclusive, loving, passionate, and without a doubt, a genius. Since the early 2000s, his work has been a tour-de-force in the contemporary Indian art ecosystem, transcending from humble beginnings in Talaja, Gujarat. He pioneered movements that brought regional art to the mainstream, unapologetically breaking out of the conventional “white cube” gallery spaces, and making art an integral part of public consciousness.
Riyaz Amlani, a longtime collaborator and friend, reminisces, “Yet, he had a way of wearing his art so gently.” Hanif’s “HandpaintedType” is a pathbreaking project aiming to preserve India’s typographic practices. “One of the first things I remember was how passionate he was about typography. It was one of his greatest loves. He was an analogue brain in a digital world.
. His appreciation for people who worked with their hands was unmatched,” Riyaz added. Hanif’s work brought a refreshing duality to a contemporary art world struggling to balance traditional and modern aesthetics.
In 2013, Hanif co-founded the ambitious St+art India project with Guilia Ambrogi, Arjun Bahl, Akshat Nauriyal, and Thanish Thomas. The initiative aimed to democratize art through public-facing murals. By 2014, India’s first-ever art district had sprung up in Delhi’s Lodhi Colony.
Recalling the early days of St+art India, Guilia said, “The first few projects were done all by ourselves. We were carrying paint buckets, pasting posters, and transporting equipment. Nobody knew what we were doing. Street art seemed like a game back then, a beautiful one because it involved a bunch of crazy people coming together. The energy was inexhaustible.”
There was also a quieter side to Hanif. Some of Guilia’s fondest memories are in Paris, where they spent hours exploring public art with their partners. “Our early days in Haus Khaz village by the lake were magical,” she adds.
As St+art India grew, so did their relationship, focused on balancing creative ideas. “I have never heard Hanif complain. Not even after his diagnosis. He was the sun, so full of energy,” recalls Guilia.
Shilo remembers a poignant conversation with Hanif in January. “Even through his deteriorating condition, we had long conversations about how artists often see themselves as immortal. We work hard, often forgetting that we need a routine too. This loss has reminded me of our human limitations,” she said.
Hanif Kureshi’s contributions to public art have left an invaluable legacy. He transformed the way we perceive and interact with art, making it accessible, relevant, and deeply engaging. As India mourns his loss, his vision lives on in the streets, the murals, and the communities he inspired.
