The artist uses a canvas that is imbued with a hard to find hydrochromatic ink sourced from overseas, that changes from white to blue when it gets wet. Water is sprayed onto a stencil and a blue image appears which evaporates. After 15 minutes, the canvas returns to its’ original white state, so the image literally evaporates into thin air.
The stencilled portrait is of a two year old girl named Ankeda – an orphan in Asia who had a terminal illness, and was refused treatment by hospitals. She was severely dehydrated and couldn’t drink anything. Ultimately she died from dehydration.
The artist is trying to harmonise the medium of the canvas with the story of this girl; someone who evaporated away. Ultimately the portrait of Ankeda disappears and the artwork returns to an empty void. “The artwork makes me think about the painful impermanence of life. Like trying to cup water in your hands, it doesn’t matter how tightly you hold it, the water will continue to drip and seep away”.
This was the first time to our knowledge a street artist has ever done this.
The stencils were cut immediately after the water was applied.
