At the TPL Tower in Karachi “Rising Blue” was unveiled, the world’s top public art mural.
Under the International Public Art Festival (IPAF), Italy’s artist Giuseppe Percivati created a 286 foot mural, the ‘ I Am Karachi ‘ initiative.
Responding to the opening ceremony, Consul General Anna Ruffino of Italy said that “Rising Blue” represents the changing world environment as well as a message of peace.
A creative artist working in USA, Portugal, and Japan, Giuseppe Percivati is. Blue Rising is a IPAF gift to Karachi’s people, Anna Ruffino said.
Giuseppe Percivati said that ‘Rising Blue’ was completed in just 9 days but it took him several months for preparation.
Describing ‘TPL Tower’ as the canvas for the mural, Percivati said:
I came to Karachi in July to find a location for ‘Rising Blue.’ As soon as I saw the tower, I said it is the perfect place.
Percivati described his love for Karachi saying:
Karachi is a beautiful city but has been neglected a bit. It is called the “City of Lights” and the people of Karachi are beautiful. The city can be as beautiful as Milan, Rome or London.
IPAF chairman, Jameel Yusuf, said that ‘Rising Blue’ symbolizes Karachi’s coastline and the fast depleting mangroves along with it. Diminishing mangroves have not only resulted in seawater intruding into the Indus delta but it also threatens marine life and birds.
He added:
‘Rising Blue’ is artistic and abstract in a way as it not only suggests the height but also the rising ocean levels referring to climate change. It depicts the rise of a nation, of a voice, of the awakening of the conscience of climate change. It is also symbolic of us as a nation: how we keep rising despite our setbacks
