If you are wandering about Mumbai’s bustling Pali Hill district, you are likely to stumble upon a mango taped to a wall. Take a closer look: it is in fact a painting. Titled Not Too Alpha, it is newly commissioned by Ashiesh Shah, the designer behind Joshi House, a soon-to-be-opened restro-bar that has the great Indian Alphonso at the centre of its identity.
Eye-catching and imbued with a sense of fun, wit and word play, Not Too Alpha is right in tune with the contemporary moment. The concept is inspired by Italian artist, absurdist and prankster Maurizio Cattelan who famously taped a banana — an everyday, perishable object — to a gallery booth at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019. Referencing art history, from Surrealism to Marcel Duchamp’s Dadaism and conceptual art, Cattelan’s act at one of the art world’s biggest events questions the perceived notions of value and meaning of art itself.
“The mango is a symbol of love, abundance and of life itself,” says Shah, who has reinterpreted India’s fruit extraordinaire for Joshi House. Scaled to the size of an actual Alphonso, the mural has been painted by artist collective Vanillya Sky in a uniquely three-dimensional, graffiti style.
The bouncing strokes make the mango look comically alive and though taped, it looks its ripest, summery self in the company of the lush, green trees which surround the space. Most of all, just like Cattelan’s original work, Not Too Alpha leaves the viewers asking the question: “what is art?” to which the only answer seems to be a mischievous, delicious mango.
*Published in Architectural Digest India, May-June 2021
