05 July,2023 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Devanshi Doshi
Stressing on the importance of giving correct prompts, Omre shares that the (from left) BEST bus, scooty and auto rickshaw made on Midjourney initially resembled random boats in the city flood
Manoj Omre (inset) grew up with a vision of a different Mumbai. His imagination was based on movies like Jaane bhi do yaaro and Chhoti si baat, and the postcards that his father brought back home from his first visit to the city.
"But I got acquainted with the real scene when I arrived here six years ago [from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho]," the 29-year-old visual artist chuckles over the phone. "In my opinion, it is a city for the working class. As a person who is not from here, I cannot imagine being old here, or going to a school that is in the middle of an extremely busy lane. But while it's impossible to find the Mumbai I grew up imagining in the suburbs, I find fragments of the calm in South Mumbai. That said, this city is the best of both worlds - warm people and the metropolitan vibes."
Manoj Omre's attempt with the Gateway of India
Omre found the inspiration to create an imaginary Mumbai after taking stock of the never-getting-better monsoon situation in the city that he witnessed in the years he spent here. "It's the same story every year. I am aware that these are some very natural reasons for flooding, but I also believe that we, as a country, have developed enough to figure out these basic problems. And we keep talking about the spirit of the city - how people here go to work despite being completely drenched in water. The spirit of Mumbai is there, yes, but it is sad to see that side sometimes. This is why I thought of creating a satirical take on the monsoon in the city."
He took almost an entire day to create vehicles, inspired by some of the most common modes of transport in the city that should have been created by now to traverse the flooding bylanes. The artworks were an immediate hit among netizens from Mumbai, who agreed that if the city is not going to get good drainage systems and roads, it was high time it got its monsoon water taxis, water cars and water buses.
With the aim to make the otherwise serious perception of art accessible to the common man, Omre has now started a series called StyleSwap. The first episode breaks down the architectural templates of many structures from the 1930s that represent the Art Deco style. He swapped this form of architecture with Indo-Saracenic structures, like the Gateway of India.
"I participate in heritage walks. I have noticed that modern buildings are more or less the same. They will have the similar angular structures and exactly the same looking floors," he shares, adding that he wants to attempt giving the city a new character by either creating buildings that look like they're from Mumbai but in reality do not exist, or by swapping architectural styles of heritage buildings.
"A lot of research and reading is required to get the correct prompts for AI. Otherwise, it will give you a random result. Using the correct terms is essential, which occurs only if you read up on the history of the city, or are familiar with cinema, the styles used in it, etc. People are scared that AI will replace humans. I believe, it is only an extension of their skills," Omre signs off.
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