Holographic Love Machine

It’s called the Holographic Love Machine. And it’s on the move.

Tired with the idea of having art solely displayed at museums and art galleries, brothers Manil and Rohit felt that art should be for the public and accessible to everyone. So, they decided to put it on the road. The two brought out the paint cans, painting tools and well, an SUV. And what they came up with after weeks of dedicated hard work, was a grafitti-ized car.

A project which took ManilRohit (a term they like to refer to themselves as) a month to complete, the Holographic Love Machine’s first outing was to Chandigarh, ‘It was actually a weekend vacation. But the amazing amount of response we got, both from the people and press, was totally unexpected. It was a revelation, of Chandigarh as an expressive city and of the efficacy of our Art Car project.’ Now in New Delhi, the car has been driven to India Gate, Khan market and Connaught Place and has received a lot of attention. We speak to the dynamic brother duo about their project.

Tell us about ManilRohit. How would you describe your artistic sensibilities? Our idea of art is to experience a sense of liberation through our process and further, have the viewer experience the same. We are essentially an amalgamation of two styles, which are poles apart. Our idea is to keep the process simple, spontaneous and fun. We’re challenging our own set notions and the understanding of art at every point. For us, art is about hope, and that’s what we strive to relay through every work of ours. Inevitably, our work revolves around the life we live and share, which includes, a disarray of dreams, desires, fantasies both sexual and material, illusions and disillusions we seek comfort in etc.

Our objective is to have an engagement with the audience, and not leave them alienated. Our use of text in the form of graffiti, speech blurbs and thought bubbles, allows us that engagement and layering. It also enhances the fun and comic quotient.

What led you to bring out the paint and brush and use your SUV as a canvas for your artistic creativity? We just wanted to try something new. And we had been contemplating for quite some time, on different possible mediums & surfaces. This again, was a eureka moment, and we felt we had found the right combination of a complex surface (to challenge our practice) and a radical medium to reach out to a wider audience. Fun too.

Why did you decide to call your Art Car, The Holographic Love Machine? Only when all the artwork was in its final stages, did this title instinctively spring up in our minds and it kind of fit the bill perfectly (of the whole wild expression and the idea of it being a ‘vehicle’ of love and art). It was simple, yet spunky and something we were sure people would connect to it. We both didn’t think twice and agreed upon it, immediately.

What kind of response have you received from the public? We’ve received an overwhelming response for The Holographic Love Machine project. Weird, exciting, unconventional, bright, colorful etc. are a few of their reactions. The purpose of art is to stimulate, evoke reactions and also rejuvenate. People from all sections of the society, kids, parents, youth, cops, beggars, all get around the car, interact and get amused, pose, click and get clicked with the car.

What’s next on the plate? Is there another car you’re working on, or a bike, perhaps? We are still in the middle of experiencing and exploiting the full potential of our Public Art Car project. But, we intend to expand our canvas and make it bigger and more effective. They say, that the human eye can perceive almost 10 million colors; well then, even we’d like to keep ourselves guessing on those possibilities.

ManilRohit intend on taking the Holographic Love Machine on an All India Road tour in the months to come and are looking for the right sponsors. Two of their paintings are also on display in a group exhibition titled, The Nerves Under Your Skin, at Nature Morte, Oberoi Gurgaon. The exhibition is on till 1s t July.

By: Radhika Iyengar
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