The walls tell a story

Asian Paints, St+art and AHC bring Indigenous artists together for a dynamic mural at Sassoon Dock

24 Mar 2025

At Sassoon Dock in Mumbai, a striking new mural has transformed the historic port into a canvas of storytelling and cultural exchange. Dreams in Her Scapes is like a global art potluck, blending the soulful art style of Australian First Nations artist Miriam Baadjo, with the spirited narratives of Bhil art by Gangu Bai. It’s a playful cross-cultural conversation where every dot, brushstroke and symbol invites you to explore a world where heritage and modernity meet in the most unexpected ways.

Presented by Asian Paints in collaboration with St+art and the Australian High Commission in Mumbai, this mural bridges worlds connecting traditions that span continents yet share a profound respect for nature, memory and resilience. Baadjo and Bai come from artistic legacies where visual language extends oral histories, ecological wisdom and spiritual cosmologies — stories passed down through generations ever-evolving and deeply rooted.

What makes this piece particularly special is the thoughtful interplay of symbols. The Mahua tree — sacred in Bhil culture — stands tall as a symbol of sustenance and the rhythms of nature while the Kingfisher, a revered figure in Australian First Nations storytelling, glides across the mural. Footsteps weave through the piece tracing ancestral paths that connect past, present and future. And then there are the dots — meticulously placed, rhythmic and profound. In Bhil art dots structure the composition and hold ancestral knowledge. In Australian First Nations art they map landscapes, pathways and spirit beings. Here, dots become a universal thread tying these traditions together while honouring each artist’s roots.

Sassoon Dock itself lends another layer of meaning. Once a hub of trade, migration and exchange, the dock now serves as a metaphor for these traditions travelling across oceans, adapting and finding new forms of expression. Through Dreams in Her Scapes, Indigenous art steps into the urban landscape asserting its place not just in galleries but in the fabric of contemporary city life.

Asian Paints has long championed public art, shaping Mumbai’s urban spaces with colour and conversation. From the Sassoon Dock Art Project in 2017 to the Mumbai Urban Art Festival in 2022 they’ve turned walls into voices. This latest collaboration is about embedding stories, honouring resilience and opening portals into dreamscapes imagined collectively.

In a city as dynamic as Mumbai this mural invites us to pause and reflect. It reminds us that art is more than decoration — it’s a dialogue, a memory and a bridge between worlds.

Explore more public art creations by Asian Paints in collaboration with St+art here