SPOKEN STATE INDIA - MAHATMA GANDHI
Quit India / Bombay, 8 August 1942
ABOUT THE PAINTING
Words from Mahatma Gandhi’s “Quit India” address are drawn and painted by hand to form the Indian flag. From a distance, the saffron, white and green establish its familiar identity. Up close, the lettering reveals a call for independence through non-violent resistance, bringing the struggle for self-determination into the fabric of the national image.
Original painting: acrylic on aluminium composite panel.
Print EDITIONS
Signed and numbered archival pigment prints of the original paintings, produced in limited editions and available in two sizes. Each print is supplied unframed.
Process
The aluminium panel is prepared, primed and painted white. Using a T-square and pencil, I map Gandhi’s words across the geometry of the Indian flag. The lettering and surrounding colour are painted by hand in acrylic, gradually building the image in saffron, white, green and blue.
Historical Context
On 8 August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi addressed the All India Congress Committee in Bombay, calling for an end to British rule in India.
Speaking during the Second World War, Gandhi urged a mass struggle for independence grounded in non-violence. His call to “Do or Die” expressed a determination to achieve freedom while insisting that the means of the struggle mattered as much as its goal.
In this painting, his words form the Indian flag, connecting the national emblem with the demand for self-determination and the discipline of non-violent resistance.
Mahatma Gandhi, addressing the All India Congress Committee in Bombay, 8 August 1942. His call for independence placed non-violence at the centre of the Quit India movement.
Mahatma Gandhi — Quit India, 1942
A contemporary interpretation of an excerpt from the speech.
Produced by Norman Rockwell Museum and the Academy of Art University.
ORIGINAL PAINTING
For availability and enquiries about the original painting, please contact Gary.