The pristine white Jindal Mansion is a landmark not just on Pedder Road, but also on the canvas of Mumbai’s heritage. Back in 2014, UK-based artist Filthy Luker had installed giant inflatable tentacles in the mansion, as his project for St+art Mumbai. It was very well-received.

And now, history has repeated itself. The St+art India Mumbai 2017 Urban Art Festival has collaborated with one of the most celebrated and inspiring contemporary designers in the fashion world, Manish Arora, to create something spectacular again.

All We Need is Love’ is the inspiration, as well as the title, of Arora’s installation. It aims to spread and evoke love, beauty and compassion, thus distinguishing itself from the chaotic, conflict-ridden, hatred-filled world around it.

It’s the result of a vision for a hopeful future, a vision shared between JSW Group, Manish Arora and the St+art India Foundation.

“The inspiration for this art piece comes from my life philosophy, ‘All We Need is Love”. The designs showcase and interpret love in different forms. I want people to stop and ponder when they look at the installation and for that one minute, feel pure, unadulterated love,” says Manish Arora.

“In today’s social and political environment, it’s so important to remember that it is love that makes us human and connects us all. I’m ecstatic to partner with the JSW Group and St+art India Foundation. I thank them for helping me bring my vision to life and giving me the best canvas to showcase my art,” he muses.

The installation, done in collaboration with The JSW Group, is a radiant representation of Manish Arora’s designs, JSW Foundation’s work towards public art interventions and St+art India Foundation’s philosophy of celebrating the streets as a canvas for visual creativity.

It took 6 months of ideation, 35 artisans and 3 months of painstaking work to complete the final installation. About 2400 pieces of hand-embroidered and printed cloth were pieced together to create the finished look. The installation is all about colour, joy and celebration, and has added glow-in-the-dark elements.

As a patron of art, Mrs. Sangita Jindal – Chairperson, JSW Foundation said, “I strongly believe that Art and Culture contribute towards society’s growth and creates positive ripples of conversation for our future generations. I am happy that Manish has used the canvas of our iconic Jindal Mansion, to spread love & joy all around.”

Arjun Bahl - Co-Founder and Festival Director, St+art India Foundation said, “We are thrilled to be working with Manish on this amazing and thought-provoking installation in the Jindal Mansion. Over the years, Manish has proved how he flawlessly takes inspiration from his fashion practice to scale up his creativity in the most unexpected manner. We would like to thank the JSW Group for giving us the opportunity, once again, to work on this iconic building, which is seen by millions daily and by enabling St+art India’s vision of Art for All.”

The St+art Mumbai 2017 Urban Art Festival, which started in mid-October, has successfully completed the Mahatma Gandhi mural at Churchgate station, and has an ongoing exhibition in Sassoon Dock, Colaba until December 30th as well as the ongoing public art district project in Mahim (E).