STORY OF AN ANONYMOUS GRAFFITI ARTIST - GUESSWHO

GUESSWHO - THE ANONYMOUS GRAFFITI ARTIST

Graffiti is a form of art involving painting text or images in public places without permission. It usually involves  a stylistic symbol or phrase spray-painted on a wall by an artist or a group of artist to express an idea. The word ‘Graffiti’ comes from the Italian word graffere, which means 'to scratch on a surface’. It may consider as an expressive art created to draw public attention, either to entertain or to convey a message.

As in Kerala, the number of graffiti artists is less, the graffiti that  suddenly appeared in Kochi in 2012 gain great attention. The paintings appeared with the tag Guesswho, were arkworks that had combined styles of  native and international successfully. The arkworks were termed as the reaction to Kochi-Muziris Biennale by the artist and expressed happiness as it had great reach when they were featured on the internet.

The  artist Guesswho wished to remain anonymous and was active since 2012 in Fort Kochi, Kerala, India. Guesswho's paste-ups and stencils have been sighted not only in Kochi but also in Trivandrum, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and  Bihar. The artist is being called as ‘Indian Banksy’ since 2012. The pictures are catching attention on the photo-sharing sites like Facebook, Instagram and Reddit even now.

Guesswho uses graffiti as a medium of expression to participate and comment on socio-political issues and also pose as a great piece of art that engage and entertain the audience. The stencils were experimental yet successful mash ups of Western and Indian cultures to radiate certain notions.  

The works were immediately got attention and Guesswho served his/her part in popularizing Graffiti in Indian art space. In an interview, Guess who mentioned that he/ she doesn't believe it is art's purpose to send any message. Graffiti is just an alternative way to use a visual language that can connect and communicate to public by using public spaces and subversive tactics as potent means of speaking about social realities.

As India doesn't have a strong culture of graffiti, most artists don’t  choose to depart from the hierarchies and definitions imposed by the traditional art institutions. Guesswho also mentions that it is an effort as a visual artist to start looking for new and meaningful ways to engage a wider audience and inspire more people to take up this as a powerful medium of free expression.

During 2019 elections, Guesswho had been posting his/her political satire art, on walls both real and Social media like Instagram and Facebook. One, a faceless politician with a corporate look and attitude  with caption ” Don’t forget to vote for your favourite corporate” and other  a black-and-white man with the face of a cow, folds his hands as  plead: #NotinMyName are appeared.

 “As an artist, these are my takes on certain social issues. They aren’t created to propagate any specific messages, but if they trigger conversations about anything, then the artist has done her/his part,” says Guess Who, in an email interview. “Not just artists, as social beings, as citizens, it is everyone’s responsibility to be aware of situations and respond to it.”

The artist still posts his lockdown art series through his/her social media accounts. The works point to real problems and social issues around and grabs the attention of the public.