Painterly Propositions

Closeup of a worn out, painted capital A letterform with more letters overalapping it and plaster peeling all around

Abstract, close-up photographs of advertisements painted on an old wall.

While returning from a meeting one afternoon in his hometown of Jaipur (Rajasthan, India), Mayank came across a series of advertisements that were hand painted on an old boundary wall. The sight of some paint peeling off the heavily textured surface of the wall caught his attention. Spontaneously, he started shooting with his camera, taking a series of close-up photographs spanning different advertisements.

While reviewing the images, Mayank — an ex advertising art director — felt that they were ironic. In them, the persuasive messages or propositions of the advertisements had got sidelined. Their elements or building blocks: shapes, forms, colours, lines, textures and remnants of typography had instead become prominent. The messages had transcended into abstract compositions with emotional appeal.

Ironically again, just a few weeks after the photos were taken (in June 2006), the walls were painted over with traditional Rajasthani graphics as a part of a gentrification effort. Mayank felt glad to have at least captured the essence of those painted advertisements before they disappeared!

Hope you will enjoy going through the images. They are available as limited edition digital prints on archival paper (Edition: 12). Print sizes: 22 × 16 or 16 × 12 inches.

Several vertical, thick paint marks with root-like fine lines below them, over thick paintbrush marks
Painterly Propositions 01
Peeling plaster and remnants of black, yellow and pink paint over fine, old paintbrush marks
Painterly Propositions 02
Cracking plaster with light blue and yellow ochre paint on it, revealing white and black paint in the layer below
Painterly Propositions 03
Closeup of a worn out, painted capital A letterform with more letters overlapping it and plaster peeling all around
Painterly Propositions 04
Horizontal, curved layers of bluish-green, white and deep yellow paint, peeling all over
Painterly Propositions 05
A black arrow over red, blue and black bands of paint, on a heavily textured stone wall
Painterly Propositions 06
Olive green colour splash over blue and red painted background of a heavily textured surface
Painterly Propositions 07
Bright yellow paint peeling off a wall with linear gashes on it, along with touches of dark blue and pink colours
Painterly Propositions 08
Horizontal splashes of white and touches of brown paint over finely textured grey and black paintbrush marks
Painterly Propositions 09
A large light green circle with scratches of pink paint below, over textured black background
Painterly Propositions 10
Remnants of scratched pink and black paint over a light grey textured background
Painterly Propositions 11
Light blue, black, red and yellow paint on a heavily textured, partly broken wall, revealing a layers of stone underneath
Painterly Propositions 12
Closeup of English letters painted in black, red, yellow and blue colours over a heavily textured surface
Painterly Propositions 13
Closeup of painted English letters with black, light blue and pink paint peeling off the surface
Painterly Propositions 14
Closeup of deep orange, black and sky blue rough paint marks on a thickly textured surface
Painterly Propositions 15
Blue, white, yellow and black paint peeling off the textured surface of a wall
Painterly Propositions 16
Vertical layers of peeling red, white and dark green paint revealing blue paint below
Painterly Propositions 17

Posted in Categories: Abstract Photography and Fine Art Photography

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