Bengaluru: Spanish artist Jaume Plensa's 16-foot sculpture titled 'Bengaluru's Soul' at Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has quickly become one of the most Instagrammable spots, offering travelers a 'wow' moment just minutes after its unveiling on Saturday evening.
Plensa's monumental work features interlaced ideograms of alphabets in Kannada, Arabic, Chinese, Tamil, Armenian, Korean, Greek, Hebrew, Thai, Hindi, Japanese, and Latin, woven together with mathematical symbols. It adorns the arrival forecourt of T2. As one of the world's foremost contemporary sculptors, Plensa offers a glowing tribute to Bengaluru's diversity, creativity, and global outlook through this installation. Measuring 500 x 319 x 375 centimeters, the sculpture aligns with KIA's vision of integrating art and culture into infrastructure.
'I have an irresistible urge to bring beauty into everyday life for communities who may not visit galleries,' says Plensa, who has created landmark works in cities such as Chicago, New York, London, Madrid, Barcelona, and Tokyo.
The installation, funded by Biocon Foundation, was unveiled by Juan Antonio March Pujol, the ambassador of Spain to India. Addressing the media before the unveiling ceremony, Biocon group chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw described discovering the sculptor through works seen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and later in Barcelona, before eventually being introduced to him through a hospital. After visiting Plensa's studio, Shaw invited him to India; he loved the country and agreed to create a major public artwork for Bengaluru. 'It's a masterpiece that captures the spirit of a city where ideas, cultures, and innovation converge. I hope people will appreciate this wonderful work of art,' said Shaw, adding: 'Public art humanizes civic spaces and fosters a shared sense of identity. Building resilient cities requires not just infrastructure, but investment in culture and creativity.'
